The Twili Resurgence
by Dimitri61
Summary: The re-written version of Under the Shadow. Link restored Hyrule to normal after the first "Twili Incident", but he lost Midna as the price of restoring order. Now, he must rely on a brother he never knew he had to quell another "Twili Incident." plz R
1. Prologue

They say that there is an entity known as the Great Fairy of Hyrule, known as Creina to the ancient peoples of the land. She embodies beauty and wisdom, but only the very select few have been able to seek her guidance. The truest warriors must strive to achieve greatness in her eyes. She is rumored to live in the unexplored Gerudo desert, in a deep cave having fifty levels. She holds dominion over Hyrule and is the divine deity that the people pray to every day. Her tears are said to cure any wound, even bring back the dead.

Only one hero had made this journey to find her. He was Link, the hero of Hyrule. He managed to conquer her 'Cave of Ordeals' on his way to striking down the dark lord Ganon to save Hyrule and the Twili. The Twili realm was now inaccessible due to Midna, the Twili Princess, destroying the mirror that bridged the two realms.

This account of history brings to light a figure that had never been revealed to the scholars of Hyrule. Link's older brother, Dimitri. He had been a simple knight of Hyrule after separating from his younger brother, keeping his distance for reasons known only to himself. After single-handedly thwarting an assassination attempt on Princess Zelda's life, only 16 at the time, he rose to the position of personal bodyguard and advisor to the princess. He was appointed by the king after showing his heroism and valor.

During this time, Dimitri quickly became the strongest, fastest, and most ruthless knight in Hyrule, even earning the title of 'First Knight.' This meant that every knight and soldier answered to him and followed his order. Dimitri only took orders from the royal family. He held this position for several years and guided Princess Zelda through the demands of being royalty.

Dimitri and Princess Zelda became lovers after The King passed away due to natural causes. They were inseperable and truly loved each other. After a couple years of this, Dimitri began to have nightmares of Zelda's death at his hands. No matter how much he tried to shake these thoughts and nightmares, they wouldn't leave his mind.

Dimitri's love for Zelda caused him to start distancing himself from her, afraid that these dreams were premonitions of the future. He decided to fake his death and live the rest of his life in solitude, locking his dangerous abilities away from the world. On a routine visit to Lake Hylia with his Lieutenant Azaan, Dimitri purposefully fell over the edge of the massive falls in the northern part of Lake Hylia.

Azaan and crews of hundreds of soldiers searched the lake and rivers leading into it, but never finding any trace of him besides his cloak adorned with the triforce and Hylian crest. Princess Zelda even came to the lake when she heard of Dimitri's disappearance. She stayed for two weeks until Azaan declared Dimitri permanently missing, likely dead, and reluctantly ended the search.

Zelda locked herself in her tower chambers for almost a whole month while the whole kingdom mourned the loss of a national hero. Parades and funeral ceremonies were held in his honor. His empty casket was buried in the Kakariko Graveyard where other knights and kings had been buried throughout the thousands of years.

Zelda was forced to go back to her ruling duties soon after and tried to keep herself distracted. Three years after Dimitri faked his death, the Twili made their move into Hyrule led by Zant. Zelda believed that had Dimitri still been alive, the Twili would have paid dearly. But due to his absence, she was forced to surrender her kingdom to spare the lives of all of her subjects.

Zelda, Link, and Midna all joined forces to defeat Zant, who was really only being possessed by Ganon. Once Ganon was defeated, everything returned to normalcy. Or so everyone thought.

Dimitri inherited the triforce of power and all of the memories of Ganon when he was defeated. He had no idea why, but it was his burden to bear. He was already strong enough as it was to begin with, the triforce made him possibly the most powerful being in existence. This is the historic retelling of the 'Twili Resurgence.'


	2. Chapter 1

Dimitri awoke, his heart racing and his left hand burning. He looked down at it through his silver hair. The Triforce of Power was glowing again, beckoning him to do something. He ignored it like he had for the past few months.

His teacher, Ralis had told him that whatever it was telling him to do, would make itself apparent in due time.

Ralis was the prince of the Zora people, the people who had taken him in as one of their own three years ago when they drug him out of the raging rapids at Lake Hylia. Ralis was very intelligent, knowing such things as diplomacy, strategy, even combat. Though a teenager by human standards, he was in peak physical condition and was easily the strongest Zora alive.

Dimitri could beat him in combat while on dry ground, but Ralis was invincible in the water. Ralis had taken Dimitri under his metaphorical wing and began teaching him such things as how to maximize oxygen use while underwater and how to move without being hampered by the water. He had quickly learned these abilities and gained the respect and admiration of the Zora people.

Ralis' now deceased mother, Rutella, fancied Dimitri rather well having met him during diplomatic journeys to Hyrule Castle. She kept his existence a secret as a favor to him. She entrusted the safety of the Zora people to him when she was away for any length of time.

Dimitri still cursed himself for being out of the country during the time of the first Twili appearance. Rutella had died because of his absence. Ralis had gone into a state of mourning that disallowed him to fight back, relying on Dimitri's younger brother Link to get revenge upon the Twili.

When Dimitri returned to Hyrule, he was met with a different kingdom. Even Ralis had changed. Everyone was morally stronger. They were more united as a people and he could tell from Zelda's growth that all was truly well, even though many people lost their lives during the conflicts. Ralis was much stronger, promising to never be so weak again. His mind had become sharper, his body stronger and faster.

But that was in the past. Dimitri knew that peace was easily obtainable with the kingdom united and as strong as they showed themselves to be. Dimitri shook the thoughts from his mind and ignored the searing pain in his left hand. He sat up and put his feet on the stone floor.

"About time you woke up Dimitri." Ralis smiled and looked at him from the doorway. "You're late for sparring practice. I was wondering if you were feeling alright."

"Sparring? Again? We've sparred for several days straight now. Not expecting a war or something are you?" Dimitri stood up and went to his mirror.

"You can never be too sure Dimitri. Conflict is always looming, whether it's right in front of you or not." Ralis shrugged, his coral earrings jingling once. "As it is, if something did happen, only the two of us, the old resistance members, and your little brother would be fit for fighting."

"How are the old resistance members doing anyway?" Dimitri asked, not sure if he really cared. He knew who they were and their roles in the past. They were good people but he just didn't know them personally.

"They're alright. Still meeting at Telma's like always. I talk to Auru whenever I see him at Lake Hylia. Ashei passes through here occasionally on her way to and from Peak Province. Shad is usually up in the Oocca sky city and Rusl tends to his family in Ordon where you left Link as a kid.

Dimitri remembered leaving Link in Mayor Bo's and Rusl's capable hands, telling them to never speak of him as Link grew up. His mind wandered to the night he had taken Link from their parents' home. A scowl unconsciously appeared on his face while he thought about it.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up." Ralis apologized upon see his expression.

"It's alright. It's nothing to worry about." Dimitri snapped back to the present.

"Good. Because Link has learned of your existence…" Ralis said hesitantly. Dimitri turned his head quickly and shot the Zora prince a death glare. "Hey, I didn't tell him."

"Then who the hell did?" Dimitri felt anger rise within him.

"Rusl said that Mayor Bo let something slip while they were talking. Then he went and checked the Kakariko Village records where you two were born." Ralis averted his eyes from Dimitri's. "He's been asking around about you."

"Who all has he asked?" Dimitri looked back to the mirror.

"Well, pretty much everyone. I said I'd never heard of you." Ralis held his hands palm up.

"Doesn't mean he won't stop trying." Dimitri shook his head. "Well, go ahead and head down. I'll be out in a few minutes after I get ready."

Dimitri ran some water into the basin underneath the mirror and splashed it onto his face a couple times. His green eyes shone with a life that he felt he was unworthy of. He only wanted to stay away from those he could hurt most. He wasn't in search of anything other than a quiet existence.

He felt some hatred toward the Kindgom of Hyrule though. He hated it for the way it spawned the people who gave birth to him and his brother. They did the right thing with his brother Link, but Dimitri had never been as loved or accepted.

_The silver hair is a curse. He will only bring misfortune to the family. _People had always whispered about him. Even his parents had believed it. He was beaten and mistreated on a daily basis. Things had only gotten worse when Link was born. Now that they had Link, they could have killed Dimitri for all it would matter.

He cleared his head by slamming his fist into the stone basin, cracking it. He finished freshening himself up and put his signature twin Claymore swords on his back. Before stepping out of the room, he looked at his scarred body in the mirror. Countless lash marks, stab wounds, slices, scrapes, and cuts marred his physically perfect body. The things that reminded him of who he was.

Dimitri walked down the stone halls weaving through the walls of the Zora's Domain and Zora's Reservoir. He knew the place well and considered it his sanctuary. He was granted asylum here and treasured it.

As he came around a corner, he accidently bumped into a black haired human girl. She wore chainmail and had light armor over her legs. She wore a sword on her belt. She was quite attractive and her body seemed well proportioned underneath her garments.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention miss…" Dimitri began to apologize.

"Ashei. And you should watch where you're going more carefully." She wore an uninterested expression on her face. "And you are?"

"My name is Dimi…" Dimitri stopped himself, realizing who this person was. Ashei was the name of one of Link's companions.

"Dimi huh?" Ashei smirked. "That sounds retarded. No wonder you weren't paying attention. Oh well, just be on your way. I have somewhere to be. My friends are waiting for me and I don't think they'd appreciate me being late. Good day Mr. Dimi."

She went on her way and Dimitri blinked a few times.

"I'm not retarded…"


	3. Chapter 2

Link felt the wind rush through his hair as he rode his horse, Epona across the planes of Hyrule on a beautiful day. The Master Sword bounced a little with each stride Epona took in its sheath on Link's back. His bow rode in a sheath of its own on one side of the saddle, his arrows in another on the other side.

It had been six months since he had defeated Ganon and returned peace to the land of Hyrule. But it had cost him dearly. The woman he fell in love with, Midna, the Twili Princess, had gone back to the Twili realm and broke the mirror that he could have used to see her. Tears came to his eyes when he thought about it and the look that had been on her stunning face.

Link saw the castle in the distance, his destination for today's ride. He was going to meet up with his companions formerly of the resistance at Telma's bar like they did on a weekly basis. They would get together, drink, revel in the stories of the good old days.

But lately Link had other things on his mind. Something Mayor Bo had said recently alerted him to the possibility of Link having a living relative. An older brother with unmistakable silver hair. He had asked everyone he could think of. He didn't have much luck but did find some solid proof in Kakariko. The village shaman let him see the birth records for the time when he was born.

His name was Dimitri. He wanted above all else to find him and find out why they had been separated.

Link slowed down slightly when the triforce of courage began shining on the back of his left hand. He looked at it in confusion. It had been doing this more and more lately. He had no idea why but he would ask Zelda when he went and saw her later that day.

Epona's pace brought them to the gates of castle town. He was waved in by the guards who all knew him and what he did for the kingdom six months ago. Link was a national hero.

He coaxed his horse down a stone pathway that led to Telma's bar. He dismounted gently and tied her to a post outside the bar. He gave her some carrots before going inside.

"Link!" Telma called as she set some drinks down at the biggest table in the establishment. On these days Telma closed the bar to everyone except Royal knights and Link's entourage. Rusl, Auru, and Shad were already seated at the table while a few knights were seated at the bar. "I was wondering when you were going to get here. Though I am surprised Ashei isn't here yet."

"She'll be here soon enough." Rusl called and motioned for Link to sit next to him. They each grabbed a glass of beer and took a big draught. "So, how are you this week?"

"I'm alright. I'm just still looking for my brother…" Link set his glass back down.

"The elusive Dimitri huh?" Auru scratched his head. "I don't know what to tell you kid."

"Ha ha ha. You say Dimitri?" A knight spoke up from the bar and had already had a couple strong drinks.

"Yeah, he did. Do you know him?" Shad turned toward the inebriated knight.

"Sure as hell do. That man was a legend. How could you have never heard of him?" The knight tapped his drinking buddy on the shoulder. "These guys don't know who Dimitri is."

"Seriously?" He turned, not as intoxicated as his louder friend.

"Yeah." Link felt that he might learn something. "Who is he?"

"Who _was _he, you mean?" The louder knight took another drink. "He's dead kid. He died three years ago."

"Are you certain?" Link stood up, his lead slowly shriveling up.

"Oh yeah man. He fell over the falls down in Lake Hylia." The knight belched after speaking. "Dimitri was one hell of a man. A man I was proud to serve under… I still can't believe he's gone but it's been three years already."

"Served under?" Rusl spoke up. "You mean he was a knight?"

"Not just any knight." The quieter knight answered. "He was _the _knight. He was the first knight of Hyrule for years. He was the king and princesses personal advisor. Bodyguard to the princess. Baddest motherfucker alive when he was around."

"Wow…" Link sat down. He was happy to hear of how great his brother had been, but was pained to hear that he was dead.

"What are you drunks yammering about?" A feminine voice came from the doorway.

"Hey! It's that lovely lady Ashei!" The louder, drunker knight slurred a little. Ashei walked to and sat down at the table. She grabbed a glass for herself and took a drink. "I was wondering if you'd go out with me this time."

"You never learn do you? Keep drinking." She didn't look back at the knight. "What were they going on about?"

"They said that my brother Dimitri was the former first night of Hyrule but he died three years ago." Link took another drink, longer this time.

"Hey. No need to drown your sorrows. You didn't even know him anyway." Ashei pulled his glass away from him. "He was the one with the silver hair right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Shad nodded as Link tried to get his glass back.

"It's funny because I thought silver hair was rare." She shrugged and set her sword on the back of her chair.

"It is rare." Auru spoke from over 60 years of experience. "No one besides this Dimitri has been born with silver hair in the past several thousand years."

"Really? That's weird." Ashei remembered the man she bumped into on her way through Zora's Domain.

"Why is it weird?" Rusl sat up straighter.

"I ran into some guy in Zora's domain with natural silver hair. He was tall, muscular, covered in scars. Had two swords on his back." Ashei recounted what she saw. "He didn't seem too bright…"

"Huh?" The others around the table hung on her words.

"When I asked his name, he said Dimi…" Ashei put her hand to her chin.

"Dimi… Dimitri?" Link stood up, his eyes wide.

"Hey, this could all be coincidence Link." Ashei tried to calm him. She saw that his left hand was glowing. "Is the triforce supposed to be doing that?"

"I have no idea. It's been doing it for a while now, more and more." Link looked at his hand again. "I'm gonna ask Zelda about it but right now I want to go check this out in Zora's Domain."

"So you're not gonna come up with us to see the Princess?" Auru questioned.

"I'll be back in a few hours and I'll come see you guys and the princess then." Link stood and walked out the door.


	4. Chapter 3

Dimitri panted as he held a claymore in each hand. He blinked sweat and blood out of his eyes as he tried to focus on his attacker. Ralis stood across from him with one sword and his free hand covering his bleeding stomach.

"Our matches are getting to be way too even, Ralis." Dimitri's head pounded from where Ralis had landed a successful blow to his right temple. His balance was thrown off a little bit but he could manage. Ralis had always been formidable, but in the past six months, he'd become just as strong if not more so than Dimitri. "Are we going to call this one a draw too?"

"I actually want to win a land battle against you once in my life." Ralis smiled though his stomach was cut open from several swipes of Dimitri's claymores. "We can end it with the next series of attacks. Whoever is still standing is the winner. How about those terms?"

"Sounds good enough to me." Dimitri braced himself and set his body into motion. Ralis did the same and their swords met, sending sparks dancing over them. Their faces were inches from each other as they tried to gain the upper hand. Their faces both bore smiles of determination. "I have to admit you've become one hell of a fighter, Ralis."

"Thank you Dimitri. That means more than you could imagine coming from you." Ralis spun off of Dimitri's swords and sent a backfist towards Dimitri's back. Dimitri sidestepped and swept Ralis' legs out from under him. He then swung both swords straight down at Ralis as he was falling to his back.

Just before Dimitri's attack connected, Ralis rolled on the ground, barely dodging the possible finishing blow. Dimitri struck again, but Ralis managed to parry it with his sword. Ralis knew that if he didn't go on the offensive now, he would surely lose.

Ralis kicked straight up, into Dimitri's stomach causing him to stagger back less than a foot. The opening was enough. Ralis righted himself in an instant and sent a straight kick into his already bleeding temple. Dimitri dropped one sword but regained his balance with the other. Ralis swiped horizontally with his sword but Dimitri caught it with the fingertips of his open hand.

"Jesus Dimitri!" Ralis exclaimed after he stopped a full strength attack with his fingertips. "What are you?"

"Oh, you know me. Just a drifter." Dimitri smiled and broke the sword with his wrists. He threw the steel fragment to the ground. His left hand pulsed with golden light and he slowed. "What the hell do you want now?"

"Don't lose your focus Dimitri." Ralis' voice seemed cold when he said that. Ralis swung a fist into Dimitri's chest, knocking the wind out of him. Dimitri dropped his other sword and fell to the ground struggling to breathe. Ralis grabbed Dimitri's fallen claymore and held it to his throat as he lay on the ground. "I believe that is match."

"You don't say…" Dimitri looked at Ralis' seemingly darker eyes at the end of the sword he was holding. His eyes returned to normal once he'd acknowledged his defeat. "You win Ralis. For the first time on dry land. But I do have to say that the triforce was your ally this time."

"Don't make me laugh." Ralis smiled and handed Dimitri his swords. "But you did break my weapon. That kinda sucks."

"I wouldn't sweat it. You Zoras are rather skilled steel workers. Just look at those really ornate suits of armor you guys wear." Dimitri pointed out, finally able to catch his breath.

"True. But I will use one of your swords as a replacement for while. Well, I guess now would be as good a time as any. I'm going to be gone for a bit taking care of diplomatic business. I'll probably be gone for a few weeks or so. In that time, You can do as you please Dimitri. Hell, take a vacation or something. Just enjoy some time off." Ralis smiled and put his hand out to Dimitri.

"Alright. You don't need me to go with you in case of an emergency?" Dimitri took his hand and shook it with a strong grip, feeling Ralis give one in return.

"I'd love for you to come with me this time, but I'm afraid I've got to go by myself." Ralis had a small frown on his face. "But I'll see you when I get back. Enjoy yourself and stay out of trouble Dimitri."

"I'll try." Dimitri smiled as their hands separated.


	5. Chapter 4

"Your majesty?" A voice brought Zelda back to awareness. She looked around trying to clear the haze from her eyes. "Your majesty? Were you spacing out again?"

Azaan, the now guard captain sat across the table from her. She looked him over, remembering who he was. He was the man Dimitri had tutored when he had been the first knight of Hyrule. She blinked several times and looked down at the table where Azaan had placed a map when he first came in.

"I'm sorry captain, I'm just tired…" Zelda felt guilty. She didn't seem to have much energy lately. The triforce of wisdom kept glowing on the back of her hand at random times, becoming more and more often lately.

"It's alright, your majesty. As I was saying, we lost contact with the garrisons in the passes here and here." Azaan pointed to the passes between the bridge of Eldin and northern Lanaryu Province.

"Do we have any idea why?" Zelda refocused and looked at the map.

"No ma'am. We've sent men to go check on them, but nothing yet." Azaan shook his head.

"Well, just make sure you let me know when we receive word." She instructed.

"Yes, your majesty." Azaan bowed after he stood up and left the room.

"Well Demi, you taught him pretty well…" She reflected on her former knight and lover, referring to him with his nickname.

She was currently in her chambers that resided in the tallest tower of the castle. She went to the window and looked out over the beautiful landscape of her kingdom. The way sunlight played across the land made this the most exquisite view in the country.

"Princess?" A voice called from the other side of the door. She recognized the voice as belonging to Ashei. She had been expecting Link and his friends sometime this afternoon.

"Come in." Zelda pulled her long blonde hair back. Ashei entered first, followed by Auru, Rusl, and Shad. "Where is Link?"

"He went chasing after a silver haired man." Ashei shrugged, unaware of Zelda's connection to him.

"A silver haired man?" Zelda asked, interest piqued.

"Yeah. I ran into some silver haired guy in Zora's Domain and Link starts freaking out like he really thinks it's a man named Dimitri." Ashei sat at the table and looked at the map laid out there. Zelda slammed her hands down on the table without realizing it. "Whoa, Princess?

"Where was he again?" She asked, her heart tugging. "And you're sure he had silver hair?"

"Yeah, but it's got to be a coincidence. Everyone says Dimitri is dead." Ashei looked up at the princess.

"We never found his body…" Zelda admitted. Only herself and the knights knew this information. "It's possible that he's still alive after all…"

"You mean he was real? Dimitri isn't just a legend?" Rusl asked, arching an eyebrow even though he already knew the truth.

"Yes. Though he was a legend, he was a living one. He was a close friend and advisor to the royal family, along with being the first knight. He was our commanding general." Zelda pointed to a canvas painting on her wall. It showed the late King and Princess Zelda in the center while Azaan and a large silver haired man flanked them on the sides. "He taught Captain Azaan everything he knows."

"I thought everyone was just messing with me…" Ashei went back to the map on the table. "He didn't seem like shit when I bumped into him. He seemed like a sinner to me."

"Enough of this talk. What did you want to see us about Princess?" Shad said before Zelda could respond to Ashei's remark.

"Well, I'm afraid some strange things have been happening. We're losing with contacts with some of our garrisons, no word out of some of the provinces. Some people are even disappearing in broad daylight." Zelda sat back in her high backed chair.

"Has any action been taken to look into this?" Auru saw certain areas were circled.

"Of course. But again, I haven't heard from those we send out. I don't know where they are. So we may be dealing with nothing, or something massive. There are just too many things we don't know." Zelda rubbed her eyes.

"Doesn't this seem awfully familiar?" Ashei turned and looked out the window. "It's like déjà vu."

"I know what you mean. It feels like what happened six months ago all over again." Rusl shifted uneasily.

"I doubt that that's what is going on… but it happened once…" Zelda thought about her close friend Midna, the one in power in the Twili realm. She wouldn't betray them after Link and Zelda restored her to power, would she?

"Maybe you should send Link a message to tell him to come back here once he's done with his wild goose chase. We can go check our native areas and see what's going on if you'd like, Princess?" Auru suggested

"I guess that's what we'll have to do." Zelda resigned herself to hoping Dimitri was really alive. "Report back what you find out."

"Yes ma'am." They all responded.


	6. Chapter 5

The rushing water felt good to his aching muscles and bones. He sat cross legged under the Zora's waterfall that fell seven thousand feet from its source in Zora's domain to the famous Zora reservoir.

Dimitri's wounds had healed quickly as usual. His six feet three inch frame was perfectly toned due to such activities as his waterfall sitting. The triforce on the back of his hand was gleaming now, not flickering at all. He still didn't understand why.

He sensed movement from the water beneath the rocks he was sitting on. A figure in Zora armor surfaced and pulled itself out of the water. The Zora armor allowed the wearer to breathe underwater and swim like the Zora. The man sat beside him under the raging waterfall. He removed his armor and set it down.

"Link." Dimitri acknowledged him without looking.

"…Are you Dimitri?" Link asked not looking either.

"I am. Why do you ask?" Dimitri had feared this moment ever since separating from his younger brother years ago.

"Then you are my older brother?" Link asked, his voice weak.

"Yes… I am your older brother." Dimitri's eyes were closed but he could sense Link's movements.

"Where have you been?" Link sounded like he was tearing up.

"Around." Dimitri tried to say as little as possible.

"Don't blow me off like that. At least answer me. I've been looking for you. I didn't even know you existed until recently." Link's voice spiked with anger.

"You were never supposed to learn of my existence. If someone hadn't slipped up, you would have never known I was alive." Dimitri knew he was being cold, but after what had happened years ago, this is what must be done.

"I heard from the shaman in Kakariko about your birth and your childhood…" Link sat underneath the waterfall next to him.

"You know nothing of my childhood Link." Dimitri could still feel the pain of every beating, the insults and jeers of the other children. The hate in his parents' eyes.

"You were born with a symbol of misfortune, your silver hair. You were bullied and shunned by everyone." Link watched his brother, hoping for some physical response.

"Shut up." Dimitri ordered.

"I never learned of what happened to our parents. Bo told me that they left Hyrule. Why would they leave without us?" Link had never known the truth. Dimitri didn't want to remember what happened that night in Kakariko.

"Because I killed them, Link." Dimitri admitted. Link said nothing, trying to find the right words. "I was tired of the way they treated me, shunned me. They treated you like the fucking messiah and me like garbage. So I took you from the house and left you with Bo and Rusl down in Ordon."

"Dimitri…" Link tried to speak.

"I came back to the house where we were born and confronted mother and father. I told them what I did and that they would never see either of us again. Father beat me nearly to death, asking me where I took you but I wouldn't tell them. Father got a knife and held it to my throat, asking me for the last time, but I chose death." Dimitri opened his eyes and looked out over the water. "Then, I'm not sure what happened… I seemed to white out. I heard such a beautiful and soothing voice, telling me that this world had much bigger plans for me and that I couldn't die yet…"

"…what happened to mother and father?" Link looked away from his older brother.

"When I came to, I was in the desert. Gerudo Desert I found out later. Lying next to me were the lifeless bodies of our mother and father. They were covered in blood, as was I. Father's knife was sticking out of his own chest. Mother had a similar wound." Dimitri shrugged. "From what I can tell, I berserked and killed them. How I wound up in the desert? I have no fucking idea."

Link sat in silence, Dimitri letting it all sink in.

"I guess I can't blame you." Link said after several minutes of verbal silence. "I forgive you Dimitri. After all, things are all fine now…"

"…really?" Dimitri looked over at his younger brother. That wasn't the response he'd been expecting. "You're not angry? Or swearing to kill me?"

"No. I see where you were in the right." Link gave a small smile.

"Well… is there something you needed?" Dimitri softened exponentially.

"I wanted your help. I met a woman and I want to be with her, but she's in a place I can't reach as it stands now." Link started to feel the fatigue from sitting underneath the waterfall.

"Midna?" Dimitri asked, knowing what he was talking about due to inheriting Ganon's memories.

"Yeah. Wait, how did you know that?" Link asked, puzzled.

"I inherited memories from Ganon." Dimitri looked over at Link for the first time. He held up his left hand to show Link the triforce of power. "Along with this."

"You've gotta be kidding me… The triforce?" Link held up his hand to show the triforce of courage. "But why?"

"Trust me, I ask myself that same question every day." Dimitri chuckled.

"Well… do you remember what happened when Midna went back to the Twili realm and destroyed the mirror? Well, I want to see her again." Link asked. "I have found really small shards of the shattered mirror in the sands by the pedestal and out in the desert."

"And you want me to help you assemble the mirror?" Dimitri closed his eyes.

"Yes. But we won't be the only ones looking. I've managed to get Ashei, Rusl, Auru, and Shad to help too." Link decided it was time to get out from under the waterfall. "Princess Zelda even said she might come with us to help, though Captain Azaan advised against it."

"Azaan is smart enough to know. But Zelda is also childish enough to ignore him." Dimitri smiled with his eyes still shut. "She's always been like that when it comes to things she wants to do."

"So you two were really close?" Link asked before he heard a hawk's screech in the sky. "Speak of the devil."

A large hawk landed on Link's shoulder after he stepped out of the waterfall's spray. Dimitri opened his eyes and watched Link open and read a letter held in the bird's talons while he remained under the raging waterfall.

"A message from Zelda." Link turned back to him. "She would like for me to meet her at the castle. Want to go?"

"Why not." Dimitri stood up under the pressure of the waterfall.

"Goddamn, you are a beast." Link said as Dimitri came out of the water. "What have you been doing since you faked your death? Constantly getting stronger?"

"Kinda." Dimitri put on his signature cloak and put an enormous broadsword on his back. "Just to warn you now, anytime throughout the time we spend together, I may decide to test you to see if you're good enough to be my brother."

"Oh really?" Link put his armor back on and put his legendary Master Sword on his back. "Want to race down the mountain then?"

"I would beat you too easily." Dimitri walked the edge of the reservoir. "And I don't even have Zora armor."

"I heard that you don't even need it. That you can breathe underwater?" Link walked behind him with difficulty.

"So?" Dimitri continued walking quickly. They came to two horses tied to the granite cliffs at the edge. "You've got a nice looking horse there."

"Yup." Link saddled his horse Epona and mounted. Dimitri saddled his ebony horse, Drear. He mounted and took off down the mountainside with Link following. They rode downhill for several miles, following the river from the reservoir.

They sped through a group of canyons that the road by the river was cut from. The river went underground at a certain point and Dimitri led them south.

"Which route are we taking?" Link caught up with Dimitri.

"The long way." Dimitri spurred his horse faster and they split from their path. Dimitri pulled his bow from a saddlebag going full speed. He shot an arrow backward at Link.

"Asshole!" Link pulled his sword and blocked the arrow while the horse was in mid-step. He sheathed his sword and grasped his bow. He sent one flying, aimed directly at Dimitri's head. "Dodge this."

Dimitri flashed out of sight. Link watched the arrow catch up to the horse and be caught by a hand sticking up from under the horse. Dimitri had kept one foot in the stirrup and swung underneath to predict the target area. He effortlessly pulled himself back up and hung back over the horse's tail.

"Nice shot… but not good enough!" Dimitri threw the arrow bare handed at Link, going even faster than if shot with a bow.

Link had no time to react. The arrow went by his face, coming so close that it left a long cut below his eyes. He almost lost his balance but regained it as they came to the gates of the Bridge of Eldin.

The Bridge of Eldin was the largest bridge in Hyrule. It stretched about a mile and a half across a chasm that seemed to have no bottom. The bridge was made of ancient marble and had no support columns, only where it met the sides of the chasm.

Dimitri stopped about twenty feet from the gate. Link stopped beside him.

"Look." Dimitri pointed to the bridge further on.

"What the…?" Link recognized the creatures skulking on the bridge. They were known as Twilit messengers; they stalked around on the ground and killed everything. "What the hell are they doing here? The Twilit realm was sealed by Midna when she left."

"Oh well. You game?" Dimitri stepped off his horse.

"Yeah, but we have to kill them all at once." Link counted the creatures. "I count more than forty on the bridge."

"Well, what do you propose?" Dimitri pulled the large sword from his back. He swung it easily with one hand.

"I don't know… But at all costs, we have to kill them before they multiply and go elsewhere." Link dismounted and unsheathed his sword.

"Look at it this way. If they are so numerous here, that means that they are already in other places. It's probably what Zelda wanted you to come to the castle for." Dimitri scanned the area. "I have an idea."

"I'm listening." Link looked at him.

"You said that we have to kill them all at the same time, so why not do just that. I want you to take both horses and get to the other side as fast as possible." Dimitri readied his sword and moved toward the bridge. Link followed, holding the reins of both horses. "Go."

"What are you going to do?" Link questioned stepping in front of Dimitri.

"Just go damn it!" Dimitri yelled. Link jumped on his horse and led them to the other side, dodging between the Twili monsters. Dimitri smiled and yelled to the creatures. "You think he's fast?"

Dimitri drove his sword through the marble and broke it from the side. He ran full speed across the falling bridge. The creatures began falling off and to their doom while Dimitri never stopped his deathly pace. His finely tuned god-like body would not fail him. When he reached the other side, the bridge stabilized and stayed at a steep angle, putting stress on the other side.

The Twilit messengers held on and galloped up the steep slope without difficulty. Dimitri simply smiled and drove his sword into the stone again, fully severing the bridge from both sides. Dimitri watched as the ancient structure fell into the nothingness below.

Link came up beside Dimitri with his horse.

"What are you?" Link gaped at the strength of his older brother.

"Nothing special." Dimitri sheathed his sword and mounted his black horse. They trotted through the field between the bridge and Castle Town.

"Who taught you stuff like that?" Link asked him still in disbelief.

"You'll find out." Dimitri's expression was set in stone. "Eventually."

They rode to the doors of Castle Town and tied their horses to a tree outside. They opened the solid metal doors and went into the town. Dimitri could see the great Castle of Hyrule standing over the town.

"Let's stop at Telma's bar first." Link led the way.

"You think I don't know this town or something?" Dimitri followed his little brother. "And why the hell would we go to Telma's?"

"See some people, keep up appearances, gather information, etc." Link stepped down some stairs off the main paved path. They walked into a building that had Telma's Bar written on it.

As they stepped in, every person in the bar rang out in praise of Link. The regulars were allowed to return today since it wasn't reserved for Link's meetings. A large woman in her forties came toward them.

"Hey there handsome. Rusl and the others are in the back like usual." She smiled. "Who's this silver haired Romeo?"

"Telma, I would like to introduce my older brother Dimitri." Link motioned to him.

"Oh, well I guess good looks run in your family." Telma smiled. "I guess those drunk knights weren't lying about him."

"Thanks Telma and yeah, I'm glad they weren't." Link and Dimitri walked past and opened the curtain that divided the room.

"Hey Link!" A blonde haired older man called from a large table, the one he had met before back in Ordon. Rusl. Dimitri studied the other people in the people in the room. There was an elderly man with gray hair at the table. He knew that was Auru. A younger brown haired man sat across from him. That was Shad he realized. He noticed a raven haired woman in chain mail and armor against the far wall, apparently asleep. Dimitri recognized her as Ashei, the one he bumped into the previous day. "We heard the cheering and knew it was you. It looks like everything turned out alright."

"Yeah. Everyone, this is Dimitri. We don't need to wake Ashei, I understand you two have already met." Link pointed to Dimitri and looked over at Ashei. He waved and looked at the map on the table.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Rusl shrugged, uneasy knowing that Dimitri knew he was lying. "The whole time you grew up in Ordon, I didn't know either of your parents or that you had a brother."

"Our parents were stupid." Dimitri said angrily. Link shot him a hard glance. Before Dimitri could say or do anything else, a sword went by his throat, and an arm locked his movement. He felt breathing in his ear.

"One does not mouth their parents." It was a woman's voice that was strangely quiet in his ear. Dimitri couldn't move. He couldn't believe that his body couldn't break her hold. "One treats their parents with the utmost respect."

"Don't you preach to me!" Dimitri got even angrier. He could feel her strength waver just barely.

"Ashei!" Link yelled at the woman. "Let him go. He didn't mean anything by what he said."

"I doubt that." Ashei said quietly. "This world is made of sinners. I figured you were one from the instant I saw you. You must respect your father."

"The hell I do!" Dimitri broke her grip and lashed out. He knocked the blade out of her hands. He grabbed her by the throat and held her against the wall. His other arm held his broadsword ready. "Don't preach to me. I'd be tempted to take your life. Understand?"

She gasped for air and tried to break his grip, but it was to no avail. Link and Rusl grabbed his arm. Their combined strength could not free Ashei from his grip.

"My dear knight." A tranquil, familiar voice resounded through Dimitri's head. He stopped and let go of Ashei. Everything around him had stopped. He looked all around the room and saw a figure shrouded in a bright light. The figure moved toward him. "Is this how you treat your fellow man?"

"What does it matter?" Dimitri growled but then stopped himself. "You're the one who was there when I killed…"

The bright light dissipated. A beautiful woman with glowing wings stood before him. He recognized her through very faint recollections. She was the one who had given him the strength to kill his parents.

"My how you've grown. You were only a boy the last time I saw you. I've been watching you, keeping you on the right path." She smiled and looked into his eyes. "I didn't think you would grow to be so unstable."

"Why are you HERE?" Dimitri bellowed. "Why don't you play God somewhere else?"

"Because I care about you… And Hyrule is in need of you and Link's service once again." She said calmly.

"Go ask Link to be your big hero again. You don't need me." Dimitri barked.

"You were the one I was going to ask last time… but you were not in Hyrule… So I had to ask Link. I wanted you to come back to Hyrule to help your brother defeat Ganon." She brought her wings to full height. "You know that you inherited the triforce of power when Ganon died. You are forever linked to what happened, possessing the memory of everything that happened even though you were not there."

"I didn't want this…" Dimitri whispered. "I didn't want this great strength either. I just wanted to be loved by my parents, but no, they tried to kill me."

"That's why I saved you Dimitri." She put her arms around Dimitri and wrapped her wings around him. "I promised not to let anything happen to you from that moment on."

"…Thank you…" Dimitri looked down at her. "What did I ever do to get in your good graces?"

"It doesn't matter." She pressed her lips against his. Their embrace and intimacy lingered and wouldn't be forgotten. She separated from him and faded from his sight. "I will continue to watch over you, Dimitri."

His mind cleared and everything returned to normal. Rusl and Link tended to Ashei, who now had a deep bruise around her neck. The other two men watched him closely.

"Dimitri…" Link got up from Ashei's side. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. Just leave me alone right now." Dimitri walked from the room and left the bar.


	7. Chapter 6

Dimitri couldn't think straight. He walked in a daze through the town, bumping into people, not caring.

His memories of this town and the castle were recalled. People stared and pointed at him, whispering things that he could hear because of his extreme senses. They were calling him a ghost, a shell of his former self. No one truly believed that he was Dimitri, but no one could argue with the color of his hair. His awkward pace brought him to the gates of the castle. About twenty soldiers stopped him, weapons at the ready.

"You there! What business do you have here?" The guard captain demanded. Dimitri shrugged, knowing Azaan upon sight. "Desist from your path! You do not have permission to enter the castle."

"Don't I? Azaan, you were always my favorite pupil. I see that you've become a fine knight." Dimitri drew closer to the captain. "You made guard captain in such a short time? I'm proud of you."

"…General Dimitri?" Azaan recognized Dimitri's voice and manner of speech. "You're still alive? We had all believed that you died three years ago."

"I kinda wish I had died that day." Dimitri remembered the fall from the cliffs and how Azaan had tried to grab him while he was falling. Azaan released a messenger hawk that flew to the highest tower of the castle.

"Her majesty will be pleased to hear of your survival." The Azaan opened the gate for him.

As he walked toward the castle, he reflected on his tenure as the personal bodyguard of the Princess Zelda. He was the fastest and the strongest of all the knights of Hyrule. He had climbed the ranks quickly. His focus shifted to Zelda, the princess… his former lover. He knew facing her again would be hard.

He laughed and cleared the haze in his mind. He was now Dimitri, the holder of the triforce of power. What could stop him?

He touched the outer wall of the great castle. He admired the work put into it and jumped hundreds of feet in the air to the top. He ran the walls and up the flying buttresses to the main structure. Several soldiers pointed and shouted but he did not stop. He kept moving vertically, gaining altitude. He stopped when he reached the window of the highest tower.

He sat down and waited, not even winded from the endeavor.

"Come in, Demi." A smooth voice called him by the pet name he had once been given. He stepped in the window and saw a woman he had hoped to never see again. Princess Zelda stood slightly smiling in front of him. "Been a while."

"Yeah… it has…" Dimitri found a chair and sat in it while Zelda looked him over. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just had a sneaking suspicion that you hadn't died that day." Zelda got closer to him. "Why did you come back?"

"You sent my brother a message." Dimitri studied the beautiful monarch. Her immaculate body had only developed even more.

"Your brother?" Zelda asked, puzzled. "The only message I sent was to Link…"

Dimitri smiled and Zelda had a surprised look on her face.

"Link is your younger brother?" Zelda remained confused. "I never knew either of you two had siblings, let alone related to each other. No wonder Link was so capable. Must be in your blood."

"It's a small world. Why did you call up my brother?" Dimitri looked out the window. The clouds began to cover the sky, looking like rain.

"He's on his way now with his old resistance buddies, so I'll wait for them all to get here." Zelda perched her hawk on its post by the window. She moved toward him and smiled again.

"You know that there is no way for them to make it up here in less than thirty minutes. Your castle is too damn big." Dimitri held his hands up. "Why wait?"

"Because I want you to myself for a little bit." Zelda looked to the floor. She put her arms around him as he stood up.

"This won't be like before." Dimitri put his arms around her body as she had done to his. "I was your knight then, but not anymore. I have no master."

"I know, but I have missed you so much." Zelda pressed against his muscular body. "I always wished for you to come back."

"The love we once had is still in my heart, but it will never again manifest." Dimitri moved her to and laid her on her large bed. "You were seventeen then. Hopefully you have matured a little bit more since then."

"I have in some areas, but not in others." She pulled him onto the bed, pressing herself against him. He held his body over her with his chiseled arms. She pulled him even closer. "I still wish for you as my knight."

"I can't be your knight anymore." He kept his distance. "I wish I could be your lover once again, but I have changed in my time away from you."

"I still love you Demi…" Zelda rose up and kissed his neck. Dimitri pulled away and stood up. "Does your brother know anything of your past as a knight in Hyrule?"

"I told him everything after we reunited earlier today…" Dimitri heard Zelda rise. She pressed against his back.

"Why have you kept yourself separated from him for so long?" Zelda asked.

"I didn't want to ruin his life." Dimitri smiled shallowly. "He did alright without me. He saved you and Hyrule from Ganon. He kept the land from falling apart, gave me a chance to return to my birth land."

"Do you think that's what he wanted? To have no guidance from a blood relative?" Zelda continued to hold him.

"I think that's what helped him complete his journey. Knowing that he had to grow up and fight without guidance. He was probably better off." Dimitri turned to Zelda. "Besides, I didn't like him."

"Why?" Zelda stood in front of him.

"My parents loved him… but tried to kill me." Dimitri hated thinking about his past. He couldn't stop tears from escaping. He was about to fall but Zelda embraced him and stabilized him. "They didn't want me once they had him."

"It's okay. I'm here for you." Zelda comforted him. He put his arms around her. "They're not around anymore. You don't have to worry."

"I know. I killed them. I ran with Link to Ordon and left him with an old friend. I left and found them in Kakariko. They were looking for Link, but found me instead. I slaughtered them mercilessly, not once having any remorse."

Zelda pushed toward her bed and they lay down on it. She held Dimitri close and comforted him.

"It's okay. We all make mistakes." Zelda said gently.

"It wasn't a mistake." Dimitri said seriously. He wiped away his tears and turned to Zelda. "But why…?"

Zelda kissed him and they fell silent, holding each other as they used to often do, laying there. They lay quietly, not moving, just prolonging their contact. Dimitri wondered why he had left her… and realized it was because of the nightmares.

"Why did you leave me Demi? Why did you leave your kingdom? You know I had planned on making you my king…" Zelda asked once they had parted lips. She lay her head against his collar and closed her eyes. "Was it something I did?"

"No… It was all me… And I'd rather not talk about it…" Dimitri stared up at the ceiling. He had spent so many nights in this bed, many sleeping, many not. It was familiar. The same patterns were on the ceiling. They were the ones he saw after the first night he made love to the princess.

"Was it another woman?" Zelda asked, half serious, half joking.

"Of course not. I'm not that kind of person." Dimitri knew that she knew better.

"Alright. You know my heart still is and will always be yours, Demi…" Zelda kissed his collarbone.

"I know…" Dimitri's mind wandered to the woman who had appeared before him, her turquoise wings and her beautiful eyes.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. Dimitri kissed Zelda's forehead and they got up.

"Yes?" Zelda answered. They straightened their clothes. Dimitri adjusted his signature cloak to where it covered his sword and left his chest bare.

"It's Link." Link called from the other side of the thick door. Dimitri sat in the chair Zelda normally sat in and collected himself. Zelda opened the door.

"Come in. I believe everyone has something to report." Zelda led Link and the other four Dimitri had seen at the bar to the table he had already been sitting at. "Dimitri came up just a minute or two before you did."

"They said that Dimitri came up a bit earlier than that." Rusl laid his sword below the table, as did everyone else. Ashei cast a long glance at Dimitri before relinquishing her weapon. "Well, Ordon was overrun by the Twilit messengers yesterday. I got your message, Princess, after relocating everyone to Kakariko."

"So Ordon is lost?" Zelda unrolled a map. She wrote "lost" over the province of Ordona.

"Lake Hylia was swamped when I left. I stood no chance of defeating any of them. They seem stronger than before." Auru wrote "lost" over Lake Hylia, just to the south of the castle. "I noticed the Zora River and Hylian Bridge were taken on my way here."

"The mountains were also lost to the Twili. Most of the Yeti were slaughtered and left lying." Ashei filled even more of the map in. She looked at Shad. "What about the Oocca?"

"They're all gone. The Twili are there now but I don't know where the Oocca are. Ooccoo said that they left to find peace. She said that something was about to happen that would claim the lives of many. Next day, the Twili attacked, but the Oocca were already gone." Shad wrote on the map.

"We just received word that Faron was lost as was Kakariko Gorge." Zelda scribbled on the map after reading a paper from Azaan she had received shortly before Dimitri had arrived. "The only areas that are still clear are… Kakariko Village, Death Mountain, The Bridge of Eldin, and the whole northern half of Lanaryu."

"The Bridge of Eldin is lost." Link spoke up. "Dimitri destroyed it on our way over here. It was as good as gone anyway. The Twili were all over it."

"So this is what it looks like." Zelda scanned the map. "The very eastern edge of Hyrule is clear while the north is still okay."

"The Twili are strangely coordinated for this time around. They isolated the areas of densest population." Auru studied his papers.

"Makes me wonder what Midna is doing." Link pondered. Dimitri remembered Midna though they had never met. She was deposed by Zant, who was possessed by Ganon. Once Ganon was slain, she regained her true form. She broke the Twili mirror when she went back, taking his brother's heart with her.

"They aren't coming anywhere near Castle Town or the castle because it never gets too dark. There are always lights." Dimitri thought out loud. Everyone turned to him. They stood in thought, trying to come up with any reason why these things were happening.

"Anyone know why the Twili are back?" Link tried to stimulate their thought processes.

"No idea." Was the uniform answer. Dimitri sat completely quiet looking at the map, noting the Zora lands were safe for now. His eyes moved to Death Mountain, the home of the rock like Gorons.

"Anyone hear from the Gorons or Zoras?" Dimitri asked.

"Nah. We haven't heard anything from either race." Zelda replied, trying to understand why he was asking.

"Prince Ralis said he had business to attend to outside the kingdom and left yesterday. Without me or Ralis there to protect them, the Zoras will be in great danger." Dimitri imagined the chaos repeated from six months ago. The Zora people were now his people, treated him as one of them. "I would like to go to be there in case they need me."

"I think we need you here Dimitri." Link reasoned. "With all of the triforce assembled, they'd have to really want to die to attack here.

"But if you're logic is correct, they would strike the weaker places first. Especially if they know no one is there to fight back." Dimitri argued, keeping a level head.

"Do you know where Ralis went? Maybe we could send for him." Zelda suggested.

"He never said where he was going." Dimitri shrugged and then sighed. His eyes went to the open window. The clouds had completely covered the sky and looked ready to release a downpour. It had darkened rather quickly and they were forced to light candles and torches. "Where did this weather come from?"

"It doesn't seem natural to me…" Ashei said quietly.

"A strong gust of wind blew in from the window and extinguished the flames lighting the room. The room became extremely dark and Dimitri instinctively reached for his claymore.

"What the hell?" Link exhaled. Dimitri stayed seated as the door flung open. A Twilit messenger jumped into their midst. Another came through the window. Dimitri finally rose to his feet and unsheathed his sword. He could hear the others in the darkness groping for their weapons.

"Everyone! Follow me to the ramparts." Dimitri crushed the skull of a Twili coming in through the window. He helped each person out and cut through the Twili trying to get them. They ran down the edges of the castle walls, avoiding Twili every step of the way. Dimitri took point and cleaved through a mass of messengers. "We need to find a way to Zora's Domain! When we get there, we'll have time to think!"

They fought their way to the edge of a wall that overlooked the Zora River.

"Damn it! That leads to Lake Hylia. We need to go upstream!" Dimitri looked over the edge. The Twili closed in on them from behind. "Fuck it! We have to jump!"

Dimitri sheathed his sword and picked Zelda off of her feet. The others braced for the jump.

"GO!" Dimitri ordered and they all jumped. The fall was about a mile long. The water would hurt like hell. He looked at his companions. He didn't think Auru would make it and that Shad would break like a toothpick when they hit the water. He looked the other way. Ashei would be weighed down by her armor and chain mail and might drown. He figured that Rusl and Link would make it.

"What now?" Zelda yelled above the wind whistling by them as they plummeted. Dimitri shook his head.

"I don't know." Dimitri admitted.

The water came up deceptively fast. Dimitri lost consciousness when they hit the water.


	8. Chapter 7

"It's time to awaken, Dimitri." A voice rang through his mind. It was her, the beautiful winged woman.

"Where are you?" Dimitri said as he regained his consciousness. He looked around and saw nothing. He was laying underwater at the deepest point in Lake Hylia. His body had already adjusted to being underwater for a long period of time. "Damn it."

He wanted her there with him, someone to guide him to do right. He swam like a Zora to the surface of the water. His eyes barely rose out of the water to examine the bank. He saw Zelda and Shad unconscious near the water. Auru leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, not moving. He didn't see Link or Ashei.

He walked up onto the shore and his body readapted to the air. He checked Shad and Zelda. Both were okay. He went to Auru and found he had just been sleeping. His triforce pulsed and started to freak.

A Twilit messenger jumped from practically out of nowhere and landed on him. It pinned him to the ground and kept him from pulling his sword. Dimitri wrestled with the tenacious beast for a minute before managing to get on its back. He grabbed the Twili's ugly head from behind and squeezed as hard as he could. After a few seconds, he could hear the familiar sound of bones snapping and it's skull splintered in his hand. He wiped the blood off his hands and pushed the body away.

He threw the body into the water, watching the blood blacken the water. He heard more movement coming from up the bank so he silently dove into the water and watched. He stayed near the edge of the water, waiting like a trap door spider.

"I heard something like bones snapping." Link came into view. Ashei followed closely with sword bared. They were covered in the blood and entrails of Twili.

"Where the hell is your brother?" Ashei said as they came to their unconscious companions.

"He'll be fine. I don't know where he is." Link looked out into the water, seeing the massacred carcass of the Twili messenger. "Is that a Twili?"

"Looks like it. Whatever got a hold of it fucked it up. What happened here?" Ashei confirmed.

Dimitri stepped from the water, covered in the Twili's blood.

"I killed it. It jumped me after I came ashore and found everyone. I knew that they couldn't handle it so I took care of it." Dimitri breathed air once again. The blood was unusually heavy on his body.

"Good for you." Ashei sheathed her sword. "We checked this side of the lake. We killed all of the Twili on this side. There were even more on the other side."

Dimitri ignored what she was saying, looking to the west. He looked at the wall that was several miles tall. His memories called to him. The Gerudo Desert on the other side called to him.

"We need to cross the desert." Dimitri said, interrupting Ashei on her report.

"That's great. How do you propose we get there?" There was obvious condescension in her voice. Dimitri let it roll off.

"Link knows." Dimitri pointed at Link, who was wiping blood from his sword. "You made it to the desert using Fyer's cannon, remember?"

"Yeah. We can see if he's still around." Link agreed. He shook Auru, and woke him from his nap. "Let's go, man."

"Where's Rusl?" Dimitri looked around. No one said anything. "You mean…"

"A Twili snatched him up when we were trying to get everyone out of the water. He was the first to make it ashore and we hadn't gotten there yet. We went after him, but couldn't catch up with them…" Link held his head down. Link woke Shad and then Zelda. "We need to move."

"Where?" Zelda asked, looking to Dimitri.

"We're going to the Desert. Link brought something to my attention before we came to the castle that may help us out." Dimitri explained. They all readied their weapons and started to travel the edge of the lake. They saw Fyer's cannon floating out on the lake where had always been, but it was covered in Twili.

"Link, give me your Hawkeye." Dimitri laid stomach down on the ground on a hill overlooking a dangerous scene. The others did the same. He used the device to look closely at moving Twili from long distances. He scanned the shore ahead of them. "Fyer is being held by a really big Twili, like twice the size of the others. If we free him, and kill all of those Twili, we can use the cannon."

"Brilliant idea." Ashei stood up. "Let's go. The sooner we kill them the better."

"Link, Ashei. You come from the front, from where we're facing. I'm going to come from the water behind them." Dimitri walked down the hill to the water's edge. "Auru, Shad… Protect the Princess at any cost."

"Aye." Auru waved. Dimitri dove into the water that was taking on a darkening hue. He sensed blood in the water, gallons of it. His skin felt that it was the consistency of Zora blood.

"Damn it." Dimitri swam faster to the other side of the barge the cannon was floating on. He watched Link and Ashei blitz the front, where rafts led to the barge. He grabbed the leg of a Twili that moved by him. He pulled it under the water and broke its neck. He did that to a few more, letting the bodies sink to the lakebed. "This isn't how I wanted to spend my life, killing these damn creatures."

He pulled himself from the bloody water and looked around. The Twili were concentrating on Link and Ashei so he slipped around the side. As he advanced, he felt something drip onto his cloak. He looked up and found a horrific sight.

"Rusl!" Dimitri cried when he saw his comrade hanging above him, dead and bleeding everywhere. He cut the body down and dove into the water with the body. "You deserved better."

Dimitri used one swing of his claymore to cut a place to bury Rusl. He quickly buried him underwater and returned to the barge. When he resurfaced, he witnessed the large Twili pushing Link and Ashei back. Even Link couldn't fight him. Dimitri jumped to the highest point on the barge and flung himself down on the large Twili. His propulsion sent them off the side, deep into the water.

"You bastard!" Dimitri cried as he swung punches at the Twili underwater, letting his body readapt. The Twili was strangely humanoid and seemed to be laughing at him. "What's so funny?"

"You are no match for me, human." The Twili smiled and breathed like he did. The Twili pulled a blade from his shadowy body and swung it rather quickly for being underwater. Dimitri pushed himself away to dodge the attack.

They touched down on the bottom of the lake and separated, each bearing their swords. They both were unhindered by the water, actually moving quicker than out of water.

"Why do you challenge the Twili?" The creature swung his sword and was parried by Dimitri's swordsmanship. Dimitri cast a vicious blow to the creature's midsection but it was unharmed.

"Because the Twili already have their own world." Dimitri kicked up into his jaw but he moved into a leg lock, putting Dimitri to the lake bed. "Besides, you just got it back anyway."

"Of course, but as they say, you can never have too much of a good thing." The Twili laughed and swung Dimitri through the waves, causing so much disturbance in the water, it created a whirlpool. "Princess Midna said that we should find a new home after what Zant had done. Our world was used up. We decided yours was the best candidate."

"How lucky for us." Dimitri shifted his weight and used his free leg to kick off from the Twili. The force of his kick was so strong, it propelled him from the water, landing on the bank. The whirlpool continued to rage as Link and Ashei rushed to his aid.

"What's going on?" Link looked into the water.

"I can't stop him. That fucker is too strong. He moves even faster than I do underwater. I have never lost underwater except to Ralis but that's because he's a damn Zora." Dimitri gasped for air. Ashei stepped in front of him.

"Let us hold him off while you gather your strength back." Ashei said as she pulled the mask of Zora armor over her face. Link did the same, enabling them to breathe underwater. They dove in before Dimitri could object.

"Goddesses help me." Dimitri picked his sword back up and dove into the swirling waters. Link and Ashei had used their heavy armor to stay on the floor of the lake while using the Zora armor to breathe. They attacked the Twili but they were just too slow in the water.

"You are the hero of Hyrule, correct?" The Twili caught Link's Master Sword, suspending him off the lake bed. Link showed no sign of confirmation. "Yes, you are. The princess told us to be wary of you."

"I'm the one you should have been warned about!" Dimitri brought his sword through the water like a flash of light down onto the Twili's head. The blow caused the Twili to stagger. It righted itself quickly and then threw Link into Dimitri. The Twili clutched it's head while Dimitri slowed his brother's momentum. Dimitri charged the ailing Twili and attacked again while Link and Ashei came from the other side.

"Why do you persist?" The Twili swiped in every direction with his sword, hitting Link and Ashei, but barely missing Dimitri. Dimitri watched Link land hard against the lake floor, knocking him out. Ashei kneeled under the heavy waters, with blood escaping from her forehead. "You are too weak to stop the Twili now. Last year was just to test the waters."

"Who the hell are you?" Dimitri slashed at him. He dodged easily and moved through the water like a fish.

"Can't you see the similarities, Dimitri?" Dimitri stopped. He scrutinized every detail of the Twili. He didn't think it was possible. "It's me, Ralis."

"No. No fucking way." Dimitri couldn't believe it. His former teacher, the Zora prince Ralis. "Why?"

"It sounded like fun. I got to eliminate my enemies in the Zora ranks so easily, the rest I transformed into Twili." Ralis set foot in front of Dimitri. "Why not join us? You have great potential as a Twili leader."

"Who else has turned?" Dimitri looked into his once Zora eyes.

"Darbus and the Goron elders. The whole Goron tribe along with them. I gave Rusl a chance to join us, but he chose death, along with any who chose not to join us." Ralis shook his head. "What a waste of ability."

"So this whole time I've been killing my brethren, the Zora." Dimitri began to feel the pressure of all of the water on top of him.

"They haven't all been Zora. Some were Goron, others Oocca." Ralis laughed. "Why waste my loyal Zora Twili on such trivial matters."

"The Oocca turned?" Dimitri looked past Ralis to where Ashei was still losing a lot of blood into the water.

"They turned at the first chance, actually. They were the ones to convince me to turn." Ralis turned to look where Dimitri was looking. "You wish to save her?"

"Just a little." Dimitri shrugged. "She risked her life to help me, even though we've already come to blows before."

"How sweet. Is she your new Zelda?" Ralis cackled. Dimitri started to step past him. "Whoa there! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help my comrades." Dimitri didn't stop. Ralis grabbed his shoulder forcefully. "Let go."

"Dimitri, if I let you get away with Link, I'll be punished severely." Ralis confided. Dimitri stopped. "I'll let you take the girl, but that's it. If you try to take Link with you, I'll kill you and the girl."

"What an ultimatum… Then I shall accept these terms as long as you give me all of his possessions, such as his sword and other items." Dimitri looked for some way out of this.

"Clever. I didn't think about that. He still carries the Master Sword." Ralis set his chin and thought. "I will give you his weapons and possessions, but you must leave."

"We're going to use the cannon." Dimitri took Link's sword and put it over his shoulder.

"No." Ralis shook his head. Dimitri put Ashei over his other shoulder. "I won't let you go into the desert."

"Why?" Dimitri turned back to him. "I thought that I was nothing to worry about to your little princess Midna."

"True, but I know you. You'll reassemble the mirror and force your way into the Twili realm." Ralis read his thoughts like an open book. "Midna warned us that Link was about to do that. He has already acquired more than two thirds of the shattered artifact. He placed them in the holder, hoping to get you to help him fix all of it."

"But Link wanted to see Midna again, not destroy the Twili realm." Dimitri reasoned with Ralis. "How about this then? Can I send my companions to the desert while I stay here in Hyrule?"

"Which companions?" Ralis was intrigued.

"Ashei, Auru, Shad, and Zelda." Dimitri tried to bargain their lives freed for his.

"If Zelda stays with you, then it is a deal. I'll tell Fyer to ready the cannon for three." Ralis swam up to the surface. "You have about ten minutes. Use them wisely. I'll take Link with me."

Dimitri carried Ashei to the bank and up to where the others were.

"Get this wound treated." Dimitri set Ashei down by Auru. "This is how it's going to go. Link has already found several shards of the shattered Twilit mirror in the mirror chamber. You are going to have to go into the desert via the cannon and find the rest of the shards. Zelda, the deal is that the two of us have to stay in Hyrule while Ralis holds Link as his captive."

"He's holding Link?" Zelda asked in disbelief.

"Yes and he knows what we are planning." Dimitri looked back and saw Ralis coming toward them. "Now go and be careful. I need you to fix the mirror, go into the Twilit realm, and find Midna."

"Is everyone done saying their tearful goodbyes?" Ralis smiled. "You three, let's go."

Dimitri and Zelda watched as Auru and Shad carried Ashei to the cannon, followed by Ralis. They were loaded in the cannon and fired over the great dividing wall.

"While they do that, we need to get the hell away from here." Dimitri sheathed his sword and adjusted the Master Sword on his back. "We're going to find a place to hide out for a while until we receive some kind of word from the others.."

"So where do we go?" Zelda followed him. "The castle is surely overrun…"

"I'll give you a choice. Either Ordon or Peak province." Dimitri didn't stop.

"Let's go with Ordon." Zelda caught up with him. "Do we have a chance at making it through this?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I don't think any of them will return." Dimitri admitted.

"Why don't you think they'll survive?" Zelda clasped his hand. They stopped, Dimitri wishing to keep going.

"I don't know." Dimitri pulled Zelda close to him. "I want you to listen. If at any time, I am unable to keep going, leave me and find somewhere to hide. Listen to me at all times, for both our sakes."

"Okay. I will." Zelda promised. Dimitri smiled lightly and continued to walk. "How are we going to get there?"

"We have to climb up to the Hylian Bridge. We kill anything in our way, and head south. Ordon is at the very southern edge of Hyrule. Rusl said they just recently took over." Dimitri came to the mile high wall that led up to the side of the Hylian Bridge. He drew his claymore and Link's Master Sword, one in each hand. "Get on my back and hang on."

She grabbed onto his back and he planted the swords in the granite wall. He pulled himself up a few feet at a time, using his arms to climb by planting the swords and advancing. They were both unaware of the large mass of Twili that had just appeared where Ralis waited.

"Ralis." Darbus, in all of his newfound Twili glory, acknowledged his superior. "Have you acquired the Hero?"

"Yes I have." Ralis smiled, pointing to the unconscious Link at the base of the cannon. "Have you taken care of Death Mountain?"

"Of course." Darbus was the leader of the Gorons. He prided himself on being the leader, but since Midna put Ralis in control, he couldn't give the orders. But the rewards would be great. "Ralis, why did you let the triforce get away? You had Zelda in your grasp!"

"I had the whole triforce in my grasp, but I had to compromise." Ralis shrugged.

"What?" Darbus exclaimed.

"Dimitri has acquired the triforce of power, from the demon Ganon after he died. I know because I trained him for the past three years." Ralis looked at his dark reflection in the water. "My mother fancied him rather well until Zant killed her when Dimitri was out of the country. Anyway, I had to compromise to keep Link in my possession. I do think that Dimitri would have berserked if I had said no. I'm lucky he accepted the terms, or he might have accepted my head."

"Princess Midna will not be happy." Darbus pointed out. Ralis laughed which unsettled Darbus.

"I think she will be rather pleased." Ralis sat down at the edge of the barge.


	9. Chapter 8

Ashei remembered nothing but the blood gushing from her head while she was underwater in Lake Hylia. How did she get from the lake bed to these torrid sands? She lay beside Shad and Auru, who were both knocked out. She felt her forehead, and found a crude bandage which had been used to stop the bleeding.

"Get up." Her voice was minute and her chest hurt. She moved painfully to Auru. "Hey, wake up."

He didn't stir. She checked his pulse. There wasn't one. She shed a few tears for her friend and comrade. They were all dying. She rolled to Shad. He had a pulse, but barely. She shook him and woke him.

"Ashei…" Shad wasn't focusing.

"Shad, Auru is dead." Ashei shook him harder. "Your father is dead."

"Father? He's dead?" Shad snapped back to reality. He moved to his father and shook him repeatedly. "Father, wake up!"

"He's gone. I think the cannon blast killed him. I'm surprised we're not dead ourselves." Ashei stood up shakily. Shad grabbed his father's sword and put it in his belt. "What did Dimitri want us to do?"

"He told us to get to the mirror chamber and reassemble the Twilit mirror. We have to use it to make our way into the Twili realm and find Midna." Shad recalled what Dimitri had told him and Auru.

Ashei could see the nearly endless expanse in front of them. Far off in the distance, she could see the six emblems of the sages above the Arbiter's Grounds as if they were mirages.

"We'll have to go through the Arbiter's Grounds to get there." Ashei sat down and began removing her hot, heavy armor. "Look that way."

Shad turned so Ashei could remove her chain mail to reveal a sleeveless tunic and shorts underneath it. She replaced her sword at her hip and set off with Shad behind her.

"Are you ready for this?" Shad asked still remembering his father.

"No." Ashei didn't bat an eyelash. "Are you?"

"No." Shad declared. "Do you think Dimitri will make it back in Hyrule?"

"No. I think they'll kill him after they pluck Zelda from him." Ashei thought back to what Dimitri was like. A heartless bastard… and a sinner. Bad combination.

"What do you think he will do in the meantime?" Shad asked.

"He'll probably try to hide out, avoid notice while he harbors the princess." Ashei ignored the glaring sun. "He's stupid if he thinks he can just hide from them. They'll have everything mapped out and traps set up. Just like in Peak province. Having the princess with him will slow him down."


	10. Chapter 9

Dimitri finally reached over the edge of the massive stone bridge and pulled himself and Zelda up onto it. They overlooked the entire lake. Twili were slowly arriving and multiplying on the shores below them.

"We made it." Dimitri felt like his arms had been doused in oil and set on fire. His entire upper body was ablaze. "We have to get moving before any Twili show up."

"Don't you need to rest?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, but I'll use my legs while I rest my arms." Zelda sheathed his swords for him because his arms wouldn't cooperate. She helped him to stand up. "Where's my horse when I need it?"

Dimitri ran alongside Zelda into some woods at the southern end of the bridge. He looked ahead and saw several Twili on the road. He didn't think he could take care of them in this condition.

Zelda grabbed the Master Sword from his back and winked at him as she went by him.

"Wait!" Dimitri called out as Zelda massacred the Twili with the Master Sword, barely breathing hard. He emerged from the wooded area, seeing several dead Twili. "Not bad."

"Remember when you told me a couple of years ago to learn my way around a sword? How about that?" She smiled and put the sword back in its sheath. Dimitri watched her closely, giving her proper dues for what she had just done.

They kept going along the path, coming to the border of the Faron province. It was a large field that led to a wooded area containing Ordon. And of course, Dimitri counted over a hundred Twili in the field simply waiting.

"Figures. What now?" Dimitri looked at Zelda. His arms still were numb from earlier. He knew that no matter how impressive, Zelda could not take all of them by herself. "Zelda, hand me that rock."

She did as she was told and handed him a very sharp rock near her feet. He used his numb fingers, and cut the lengths of his arms, letting blood flow out, and regenerating nerve endings, giving feeling back and coordination.

"This is going to be one hell of a battle." Dimitri unsheathed his broadsword. "Stay here and defend yourself with the Master Sword if you need to."

He rushed into the heat of battle, finding comfort in it, knowing that he was truly alive. He slashed, sliced, and slaughtered the Twili as quickly as they would enter the battle. He expended everything in order to kill every last one of them. They kept coming, no matter how many he destroyed. He didn't care if they had been Zoras, Gorons, or Oocca, they were dead, and that was all that mattered.

"I know you're watching me!" Dimitri screamed to the heavens. He felt her eyes on him. "Is this what you saved me to do?"

He received no answer but kept killing anyway. The Twili just kept coming. His arms were ablaze with searing pain and soreness but he couldn't stop now. Too much was at stake.

"Why did you not let me die?" Dimitri resumed screaming to the heavens. He picked up the pace, killing ten or more with every swing of his sword. "You always watch me! Why not just end my misery once and for all?"

The Twili finally began to dwindle, piling dead bodies everywhere, coating Dimitri with even more blood. His rage was still unsatisfied and he didn't stop, showing no weakness. He grabbed the last surviving Twili by the throat.

"Why the fuck are you here?" He snarled into the face of the creature.

"To… conquer this realm… for ourselves…" The creature had difficulty speaking the Hylian language. Dimitri dropped the Twili, who tried to scurry away.

"I'm not finished with you." Dimitri threw his sword, impaling the creature, pinning it to the ground. "I want to take my time."

"Then take your time with me." A very small Twili stood behind him. There was smoke coming from the entity. "You will remember me as the Goron elder Gor Amoto."

"Amoto?" Dimitri turned from his wounded prey. "Why are you here?"

"Midna told me to look for rebels. You look as much a rebel as anyone. And I've seen some rebels in my time." Amoto laughed. The sound was like a witch's cackle. The transformation into a Twili hadn't changed his age. He was one of the ancient Goron elders, in his 150's. "You seem to have no problem with defeating Twili."

"Why should I?" Dimitri went back to the wounded Twili. He wrenched his sword free, and then decapitated the creature with a flick of his wrist. Amoto chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"You remind me of someone I once knew." Amoto inched close on his extremely short legs. Dimitri felt euphoric for a second as he breathed in the death he had caused. The blood ran on the ground like an endless river, comforting him slightly. "You act just like him."

"Who?" Dimitri sounded unusually calm.

"Ganon. He killed for fun, and reveled in it." Amoto was now only a few feet from him. "I do believe you could be greater than he, with some help."

"I've heard something like this before." Dimitri remembered what Ralis had said. All of these former friends were trying to convince him to join their misguided crusade. He knew the rewards would be great, but there was someone watching over him that would not allow that. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" Amoto questioned.

"There is someone watching over me…" Dimitri swung his sword, flinging some of the blood off. The blood made the sword heavier in his hand. He normally wielded it one handed, but he was going to have to use both hands. "Which means you'll have to move out of my way, or die."

"Just like Ganon." Amoto looked down in disappointment. He blurred out of sight.

"I know he's not letting me go." Dimitri said, looking around. He heard a buzzing sound and ducked in time to avoid Amoto flying in the direction of his head. He brought his sword up and deflected Amoto to the ground. "Let's go old man. Show me the benefits of the Twili."

"Is that how it's going to be?" Amoto got up smiling. He shifted his weight and grew larger, the darkness making him swell. He grew to Dimitri's size and height, and then the darkness cleared. He had become an exact copy of Dimitri. "This is what Midna gave me. The ability to copy someone exactly. Their weapons, strength, speech, etc."

"Copying huh?" Dimitri showed no regress.

"Oh yes. You have an exquisite body. So this is what it's like to be a human. If it weren't for the short life span this wouldn't be so bad." Amoto assessed Dimitri's body, moving around to test it out. "But that doesn't matter when I gain my immortality."

"Immortality isn't going to be in your lifetime, Amoto. I'm going to end your life right now." Dimitri clenched his jaw and tensed his entire body. Amoto shot him a grin.

"Someone is watching over you, huh? We'll see." Amoto continued smiling. "You have quite an interesting body. You even bear Ganon's triforce of power. This is an interesting development. I can't allow you to continue anymore. I must bring you to Princess Midna."

"You're pretty funny for an old Goron. You will not be able to take me alive." Dimitri ran full speed at Amoto.

"How clichéd." Amoto drew an exact replica of Dimitri's sword from his back. He threw off Dimitri's signature cloak, revealing his muscular body. "This is a nice body. Perhaps this will be my new form."

"You won't need a form when I kill you." Dimitri lunged vivaciously, rabid with anger. His attacks were all guarded against, providing Amoto with the openings he needed. He couldn't dodge as Amoto split his shoulder open and cut along his back. He fell to the ground in a heap. "You won't… take me…"

"Yes, I know. Alive, right?" Amoto drove the sword though his other shoulder, preventing him from getting up. Dimitri cursed under his now almost nonexistent breath. His body was going into shock. "You will please the princess rather well, though you did go down a lot faster than I had anticipated. I thought you had more in you than that. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. You are going to join us now whether you consent or not."

"Bastard…" Dimitri faded from consciousness. His life hung on the verge of darkness. He felt the darkness taking hold of his spine and legs. They were turning him. Dimitri couldn't move an inch while the darkness reached his shoulder blades.

Dimitri's mind reeled from the assault of the darkness. He couldn't fight it forever. He flashed back on all of the things in his life. Princess Zelda, the years they spent together. The lives of his parents that he took in a blinding rage.

_Don't let it end here Dimitri. You are stronger than this. _A voice pierced the darkness overtaking him. It was his guardian angel again. _You still have so much to do. Resist the darkness and vanquish the threat._

Just as the darkness was about to cover him completely, it began to recede.

_Dimitri, you need to stand and fight._ Her voice soothed his soul. He tried to cry out for her, to be with him, but she simply coaxed him to fight back.

"How did you resist the turning?" Amoto gasped as he watched Dimitri rip the sword from the ground, still in his shoulder. He raised his arm and forcefully removed the sword from his body, letting blood flow freely. "How did you survive?"

"I have someone watching over me. You know that." Dimitri gripped a sword in each hand. "Do you want to see how your life is going to end?"

Dimitri's body was wrecked. There was no way that he would be able to recover for months after this battle. He had to give everything to win.

"Now you are the funny one, boy. My life will not end here!" Amoto charged forward, head on into Dimitri. Dimitri slipped under him and planted a sword. Amoto tripped over the hilt, sending him face first to the ground. Dimitri jumped onto his back and placed the heel of his boot on the back of his head.

"Anything to say before I send you to hell?" Dimitri applied pressure gradually to his skull. His sword was raised, poised for the final blow.

"It will not end here!" Amoto cried as Dimitri delivered a perfectly placed curb-stomp to the back of his skull, and tore his body to shreds with the twin swords. Dimitri sheathed the swords on his back, keeping the copy of his original Claymore. Amoto was a worthy adversary, but now he had paid the price of darkness.

Dimitri didn't even glance at his wounds. He knew his body was done. He staggered limply to where Zelda had been waiting before the fight but he found that she was not there. The Master Sword was tossed aside in a group of bushes. Swearing under his breath he put it on his back, and fought to stay upright. He looked around and couldn't find Zelda.

"They took her." He cursed himself for being so stupid and for not being able to help Zelda. They just took her while he was distracted. He should have known it would happen.

Not being able to stand any longer, his body crumpled beneath him. His head spun as he lost all consciousness and faded to black.


	11. Chapter 10

Zelda awoke in a dark room, breathing heavily. She looked around, but she didn't see Dimitri. She lay on a stone floor and her arms were shackled together, tethered to a wall with a chain.

"You're awake?" A woman's voice rang in Zelda's ears. "It's about damn time."

"Midna?" Zelda recognized her voice.

"Yes?" She replied. "I figured you'd forgotten about me."

"Why would I? You helped us defeat Ganon." Zelda looked down at the shackles. "What is this all about?"

"What has it been about for centuries? We all want the triforce." Midna stepped from the darkness. Her beauty was marred only by the darkness around her. "I aim to get it. You hold the triforce of wisdom, and my former partner holds the triforce of courage. I am two thirds of the way to my goal."

"What now?" Zelda knew where she was going with this.

"Now you tell me where the triforce of power is." Midna lowered herself to Zelda. "I know that you know where it is and who has it."

"I actually don't know where it is." Zelda tried to sound truthful.

"But you do know." Midna smiled. "I'd advise you to tell me now. There are many tortures that I can use to get you to talk."

"Try me." Zelda challenged her former friend.

"I will. Just wait." Zelda saw a devilish gleam in her placid eyes. "Ralis!"

"Ma'am?" Ralis stepped out of the darkness.

"Bring me Link." Midna turned from Zelda. "We'll leave Zelda here and see how long it takes for her to break."

Ralis left the cell, vanishing into the darkness.

"Do you know where we are?" Midna didn't look at Zelda.

"Where?" She glared at Midna's back.

"We are in the dungeon of the Twilit Palace. A place that will either be your santuarty, or your tomb. I promise you that you will not leave this palace a Hylian." Midna finally turned to look at her. "Let alone one worthy to be a princess."

"Fuck you." Zelda used such language for the first time in her life.


	12. Chapter 11

It was looking worse by the minute. Ashei and Shad stood before the entrance to the Arbiter's Grounds. Shad was sweating profusely, his body unable to cope with the heat. Ashei was still dizzy from her wound to the head. They had trekked through the desert for two days, going too far to keep track.

"We need to go up through here to get to the mirror chamber." Ashei started into the decrepit structure. Link had come here and killed the Stallord, keeper of these crypts six months prior. Hopefully any other threats were eliminated then as well. "We shouldn't have any problems."

Shad followed, looking for a way to get out of the heat. When they entered, they could immediately tell a difference. It had to be over 150 degrees outside, but it was well below freezing in the Arbiter's Grounds. There were icicles hanging from the stone thresholds above them. Ice covered the floor and walls.

After walking through the dungeon for a while, Shad felt his body go into shock from the temperature difference. He fell to his knees, not able to call out to Ashei. His body slammed into the frozen ground, alerting Ashei.

"Shad!" Ashei ran to him. As she kneeled over him, she could see her breath, but couldn't see his. "Get up! I can't do all of this alone!"

"I'm… sorry…" Shad closed his eyes.

"Don't you even think about dying here!" Ashei slapped him hard. He didn't respond. "Damn it, Shad! First Rusl, then Auru, now you! I'm the last one alive from the resistance… I have to finish this for all of us…"

Ashei cried a single tear and took his swords, placing them on her belt, as was the custom for death. She now had all four of their swords on her belt being the last one left alive.

Ashei fought through her dizziness and the frigid temperature to the crypt chamber. This was where Link defeated Stallord. His bones were lying in the now frozen sands, splintered by the Master Sword. She found a ramp leading up to the exit where the mirror chamber awaited.

As she set foot on the stone, she felt and heard a rumbling beneath her feet. She looked out to the sands she had just walked through and saw the sands begin to glow red with heat. The bones started to unbury themselves, shattering the ice that imprisoned them. She started running as fast as she could up the ramp.

A large skeletal hand crashed down in front of her, blocking her path. She looked down and saw the skull of Stallord surface from beneath the sand, covered in the aura of a Twili. They got here before she did!

"You are a strong and clever girl!" A deep voice thundered throughout the sandy arena. It came from a Twili far below her, just beside the cracked skull of Stallord. She studied him quickly and recognized him as the Goron elder, Gor Liggs.

"What are you doing here Liggs?" She called down to him. He laughed and stepped onto the skull he had just excavated. It rose from the ground and landed next to her on the ramp.

"I'm here to recruit for princess Midna." Liggs stepped off of the skull to her level. "Would you like to join us in our march to dominance over Hyrule? We could use good leaders."

"You know me. I'm with the resistance." Ashei put her hands on her swords. "I will not join the Twili."

"Shame, shame." Liggs shook his head. "Now that we have Link and Zelda, we don't have anything in our way. You're fighting alone."

"I'm used to it. That just means Dimitri didn't do his job." Ashei looked the room over and wondered if Dimitri was really dead.

"So that's his name." Liggs contemplated. "He was the one with Zelda, correct?"

"I guess." Ashei fazed into combat mode. She looked at Liggs. "Do you intend to stop me?"

"Yes, I do." Liggs looked up at her. The eyes of the floating skull flared to life with dark flame. "As you can see the Twili power I was given allows me to manipulate the dead."

"I don't care. All that matters is that you die." Ashei unsheathed her sword. She drew Rusl's saber in the other hand. She attacked Liggs, but he vanished and was replaced by Stallord's skull. It shot fire from its jaws and singed Ashei's arms.

"Come now. The dead will kill you." Liggs could be heard above her. She continued to pound the skull of the now dead Stallord. Her onslaught was ineffective. She merely chipped the bone of his muzzle.

"I will live on for my comrades!" Ashei assaulted the bones even more. She wore away one side of the skull's lower jaw. It pulled away from her reach and retracted all of its bones, reassembling its broken body. "Goddesses give me strength."

The fiend towered over the chamber, standing on its two feet. It gave a voracious roar. Ashei felt her blood run cold.

"Changed your mind?" Liggs appeared beside her. She looked at him, and then up at Stallord. She looked to the ground.

"Not in the least. Now you'll get to see me get serious." She smiled and blurred into lightning quick motion. She fell to the bottom of the chamber and slashed both legs of Stallord to pieces. The bones wouldn't be of any use in that many pieces of that minute size. Stallord fell groping to its knees, breaking its femurs under its own weight.

"You should use better specimens for your powers." Ashei voiced. She jumped and kicked its spine. Several vertebrae crumbled from the force. Stallord fell with a cry of anguish escaping its ancient jaws. His legs and back had been utterly destroyed. Liggs couldn't repair his minion. "Stallord is so ancient that its own weight is destroying it."

"Touché." Liggs said to himself as he watched Ashei obliterate Stallord. She crushed his shoulders and arms with ease, leaving only his Skull lying on the sands. She used her sword to drive through the skull, directly between the eyes. She twisted her sword, splitting it down the middle.

The skull pieces ground into dust beneath Ashei's feet. She sheathed her swords and breathed deeply, clearing her mind. She looked up for Liggs, who wasn't there anymore. She figured he retreated to find new minions or tell his superior of what happened. She moved toward the ramp but heard coughing behind her.

"Ashei?" She recognized the voice as Shad's. She turned to see him crawling across the sand. "I heard some really loud noises and followed them here."

He was still shivering, but when he touched the warm sands, his body began to compensate. Ashei came to his side. His body temperature was extremely low, still in shock.

"There was this little bastard that walked by me on the way out. He spoke of bringing Amoto here. Is he talking about the Goron elder?" Shad laid his head in the warm sands. Ashei thought he was hallucinating, but it might have been Liggs leaving to go get help. She put her hand on his forehead and then on his wrist. Something was off. She realized it too late.

"I believe you're looking for a pulse." Shad grabbed her arms and threw her on her back onto the sand. He pinned her down. "Sorry, but you will find that I don't have one anymore. Liggs gave me the opportunity to become a Twili general. Now that I am dead, what is there to kill me?"

"Get off me, Shad!" Ashei tried to get through to him. He gripped her arms even harder, cracking the bones in both of her arms. Shad smiled a wicked grin.

"I will let you go if you join me." Shad kept her down.

"No! Get off!" Ashei struggled, but Shad had acquired strength superior to hers. He grabbed his sword from her belt.

"Thanks for holding onto it for me." He stood up, but kept her on the sand by putting his foot in her stomach. She pulled her sword and stabbed it into his leg. He didn't seem to notice. She pulled it free and stabbed again. "It won't work. I seem to have no more nerve endings. I don't feel pain."

"Why, Shad?" Ashei pleaded. Liggs materialized beside them. He was laughing.

"To answer your question, for the power and rewards." Shad looked down at her. "I am immortal now. What out there can I not do?"

"You'll never be human again." Ashei bit him with words. "You son of a bitch. What do you think Auru would do?"

"Join him." Auru came into the chamber. He came up to his son and patted him on the shoulder. "Good work, son."

"Thank you, father." Shad took Auru's sword from Ashei's belt and gave it to his father. Auru sheathed his weapon and looked down at Ashei.

"Why not join us in immortality?" Auru extended his hand. Ashei refused to accept it. "If you do not join us, we must kill you."

"Kill me then." Ashei accepted her fate. She watched as Shad let off of her, and then picked her up off the ground. He turned her to where she faced away from him. Auru shed a tear unconsciously. She was about to say something when she felt Shad's hands on her jaw and neck.

"Good bye." Ashei resigned herself right before Shad twisted her neck, breaking it and ending her life.


	13. Chapter 12

Zelda was standing on a balcony, staring out into the eternally dark sky. The Twili realm had never been her favorite place to be. Midna sat in an ornate chair against the wall, facing Zelda. Link sat quietly in the doorway that led to the balcony. They had been silent like this for almost an hour.

"How about one of you tell me where he is?" Midna scrutinized Zelda near the edge and Link mulling his brother's situation. She had never known that Link had a brother. "Why don't you know, Link?"

"I just don't. Why did you start all of this in the first place?" Link looked to Midna.

"We've already gone over this." Midna sighed. "I want the triforce. That's it. When I get it, I will join the Twili realm and Hyrule."

"Afraid of the dark?" Zelda stung Midna. Midna simply smiled and looked to Link.

"I've wanted to see you since I destroyed the mirror. But I knew that the mirror needed to be destroyed." Midna stood and went to Link. "Ralis!"

"Yes, your Majesty?" He came at her call.

"Keep watch of Princess Zelda." Midna tugged Link with her back into the palace.

"I will." Ralis stood in front of the door. "So Princess, having a good time? Enjoying this realm of darkness?"

"Definitely. Nothing makes me happier than standing here while my loyal subjects of Hyrule are being murdered by the Twili." Zelda rebuffed him. "What do you hope to get out of this?"

"I get immortality, stature, even my own land back once we move into Hyrule." Ralis thought about what Midna had promised him. He could rule his people peacefully without any outside source of conflict or dissent.

"How did they convince you, of all people, to turn?" Zelda remembered his mother and the way he had been raised. "You were raised to be the perfect prince of the Zoras, even talked about as a match for my hand by my advisors."

"Was Dimitri among your advisors?" Ralis picked at her. Zelda gave him a look of contempt. He knew what they had had. "I know that he would never have let you be my queen."

"That doesn't matter now, does it?" Zelda scorned at his words. Ralis simply shrugged. "Besides, you never showed any feelings for me anyway. Not even your mother considered a marriage."

"I rather liked you." Ralis messed with her and smiled again.

"Shut it." Zelda ordered. Ralis had been such a good person and even seemed to still have those honorable traits. From what she could tell, he was still the graceful and benevolent prince he was known to be, but bore a Twili shroud.

"I do believe that I don't take orders from you anymore." Ralis pointed out, the Twili nature showing, scattering Zelda's previous thoughts.

"Keep it to yourself." Zelda barked. "That is one thing I am going to make you regret before all of this is over."

Ralis sat in silence for a minute. Zelda moved toward the wall and sat near Ralis only a foot from him.

"So, Sweetheart… Where is he?" Ralis asked again. Zelda shrugged and began to stare at the gray stone beneath them.


	14. Chapter 13

Water caressed his body. His shoulders and back weren't bleeding anymore. The wound in his chest had healed. Dimitri could hear a voice, leading him out of the darkness. It was her voice; bringing him back from the brink of death.

"Please, Dimitri. Wake up." Her voice could heal a man's soul alone. With his eyes closed, Dimitri reached out for her. He felt a hand intertwining its fingers with his. The hand lifted his up and he felt it go against her cheek. He felt moisture where her tears had fallen. "You are the only one I have shed tears for, Dimitri. Please come back to me. Come back to this world."

Dimitri opened his eyes, fighting to keep them open. The light enveloped him as he lay in a shallow pool of water. The heavenly woman with turquoise wings sat next to him and was leaning over him. She looked down on him with forlorn eyes as he recuperated. His strength was quickly returning though he wasn't quite so sure why. He was soon able to sit up.

"I have brought you to my dwelling in the Gerudo Desert." She stood up with him. She put her arms around him and kissed his collarbone. "I promised to always watch over you."

"…who are you? You've never told me…" Dimitri put his arms around her. He remembered exactly how she felt against him from before and didn't want to let go of her.

"No… I haven't. I should have but I didn't think it was time for you to know…" She let more tears fall. "The ancient peoples called me Creina. I am well known throughout this time as the Great Fairy of Hyrule. It is my duty to protect the essence and spirit of Hyrule and to ensure the safety of the Triforce. I'm not supposed to intervene in the lives of any being in this land. But I broke the sacred law and spared you those years ago. Even gave you the strength to kill the ones who gave birth to you."

"And I'm glad you did. I wouldn't have made it so far without what you did for me. I am truly grateful." Dimitri spoke quietly in her ear.

"I forced you to take the weight of this kingdom on your shoulders for when I am unable to come to its aid… I never should have pushed any of this on you. I chose you to inherit the triforce of power from Ganon. I implanted the memories of everything that had happened into your mind while you were away. Everything is my fault." Her shoulders began to shake. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done. But I knew that I would be powerless in the coming times…"

"Please don't cry." Dimitri wiped her tears away. "I hate to see beautiful women cry."

Dimitri found himself being attracted to the deity. She was so beautiful and her body was perfect. She pressed against him and he savored how she tasted when they had kissed.

"You've always been the chivalrous kind, Dimitri. And that's one of the things about you…" The Great Fairy trailed off, pulling herself slightly back to look into Dimitri's eyes. He felt himself being lost in her tranquil blue eyes. "That's caused me to fall in love with you over the years…"

"What?" Dimitri felt that he had misheard.

"I love you Dimitri…" She pushed her lips against his again, causing them to fall back again.

Dimitri couldn't believe what was happening. He admitted that he did have feelings for her and that as he'd thought about it, the romantic feelings were there. But he never thought anything would come of it. He had longed for this and he was actually getting it. He would take advantage of it and enjoy it.

His mind was far from the conflicts and problems of Hyrule as he rolled the divine being over, now on top of her. She longingly looked up at him as he held himself over her.

"I guess now isn't the time for this…" Dimitri looked away from her.

"I guess it isn't." The Great Fairy said, disappointed. She sat up as Dimitri turned away from her, his back to her. She moved to him and wound her arms underneath his. She embraced him from behind and her cheek sat between his broad shoulders. Dimitri placed his hands on top of hers clasped around his scarred chest.

This was the peace that Dimitri had longed for. To have someone that loved him, someone who wouldn't die at his hands or he would have to be responsible for their safety. He wanted a quiet setting with little to no people. This was what he had been searching for. He found himself losing the resolve to keep fighting as he had been.

"I don't want to leave you. I don't care what happens to Hyrule. I don't want to leave your side." Dimitri prolonged their embrace.

"You must save Hyrule… Zelda and Link also needs your help." She hugged him even tighter. "If Hyrule is lost, so are we."

"What do you mean?" Dimitri whispered.

"Without Hyrule, the triforce would be destroyed, killing you, Link, and Zelda. If the triforce is gone, I will no longer exist." She explained, moving around in front of him. He looked into her alluring eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

"I sure as hell don't want to lose you either." Dimitri kissed her.

"You should go through the Arbiter's Grounds to get to the mirror chamber. I sensed that Ashei, Shad, and Auru are already there." She told him. "I'll continue to watch over you, Dimitri. But you must go now. I'll teleport you to the desert above."

"I love you, Dimitri." She disappeared and he emerged from the water and light into the desert. The sun was beating down on him.

"And I love you…" His eyes adjusting to the blinding radiance. He spent about five minutes standing in the heat, getting his mind right. He had to kill all of those that stood in his way and stop this madness.

He repeated what he had told her, and then began walking toward his destination, miles away.


	15. Chapter 14

Why wouldn't the screaming stop? Her head ached as if someone was striking an anvil with a swordsmith mallet for hours. She tried to see through the haze that filled her head. She felt around, and felt sand beneath her. She touched her neck, remembering what had transpired earlier.

"I should be dead…" Ashei felt where her neck had been broken, and then crudely put back in place. She felt no heartbeat in her chest. "What happened to me?"

"I gave you immortality." Liggs said from above her, his Twili shroud flickering. He lowered himself to her eye level. His sick smile could be seen through the darkness around him.

"I didn't want this!" Ashei cried out. "I wanted to die!"

"Too late now. I brought you back, and the only way to fix that is to kill me, but there is no way for you to do that." Liggs scoffed and looked her over. "I actually did a good job fixing you."

"Shut up!" Ashei heard her joints pop and snap as she stood up. Her body had settled into death and had been quickly revived, making everything settle wrong. She used all of her strength just to walk up the ramp she had tried to ascend earlier. Every step was accompanied by a sick pop or cracking noise.

"Now where are you going?" Liggs floated up to the ramp, merely watching. She looked sidelong at him, giving him a death glare. "You have something in mind?"

"Yes I do." Ashei pushed by him. A plan was being formulated in her brain. She had been raised by a very violent father who had forced her to excel in all areas upon threat of punishment. This seemed no different to her. She had to do something or she would fall into failure.

"Go ahead. Reassemble the mirror, if you can." Liggs drifted back down to the sand, seemingly aware of what she was thinking.

She emerged into the arid sunlight on top of the Arbiter's Grounds. She haphazardly climbed the stairs up to the mirror chamber. When she reached it, she saw Auru and Shad working on something. She walked to them and saw they were examining pieces of the shattered mirror that could bridge the gap between Hyrule and Twili realm.

"What are you doing?" Her voice rasped.

"Just setting your work out for you." Shad held a large piece of the mirror, about a whole fourth of its size. She reached for it, but then he broke it over his knee, creating millions of tiny fragments that mixed in with the sand. "Get to work, trooper. It's not like we need that small ass mirror anymore anyway."

They moved away from the shattered mirror shards. Ashei couldn't believe what he had just done. There was no way for her to fix it now. She fell to her knees, as if in slow motion and ran her fingers through the sand, sluggishly searching for the shards. She felt so hopeless and powerless. She felt as if her father was standing right over her shoulder, waiting for her punishment to come.

"Is that Dimitri?" She overheard Shad and Auru using the Hawkeye. They were looking from their high altitude to the foot of the Arbiter's Grounds. She rushed them and snatched the Hawkeye from Auru. She looked, and confirmed it was him. She was about to call out to him but Shad's hand clamped firmly over her mouth. He pulled her back and gagged her with a long piece of cloth. He used another piece to tie her arms and legs. He tethered her to a column near the mirror altar. "We don't need you alerting him. There should be nothing out of the ordinary."

She struggled against her bonds, but they were too strong. She tried to scream, but the gag prevented that too. Dimitri was their only hope.


	16. Chapter 15

Dimitri had traversed the desert several times before. It had never been this hot. His boots were cooking his legs, his cloak was slapping against his body. Everything he wore was black, which was not a wise decision for the desert.

He crossed several chasms in the desert, known to travelers as the dead man's tributaries. Anyone who fell was as good as dead. But being who he was, he jumped them with ease and marched onward.

He came across a few Twili messengers in the open heat. It didn't look like they had a reason to be there. They seemed to be struggling with the heat, so Dimitri gave them all mercy killings with efficient swordplay.

He reached the foot of the Arbiter's Grounds and looked up. The mirror chamber was way up there. He thought he saw a glint of light reflecting off of something, but upon re-examination, he saw nothing. He unsheathed his swords and stepped into the ruins.

He felt frigid air slam into him immediately. It was as if every place across the land had decided to intensify its climate. His body would go into shock before long. He made a brisk pace through the decrepit structure. When he came to the door of Stallord's crypt, he felt heat coming from the other side of the shut door.

"Are you going this way too?" An old voice came from behind him. He spun with his swords to see a Twili shroud. "Go on in. It's warm in there."

Dimitri lunged at the Twili, but it dodged and went through the door. Dimitri kicked the door open and felt a stark contrast of heat rush him. The sands of the chamber were glowing white hot. The bones of the once feared Stallord were melting into the sands.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" He looked up to see two Twili shrouds. He recognized Gor Liggs voice and deduced that the other was another Goron elder, Gor Ebizo. "Now that you are here, you can see why the Twili want Hyrule."

"This is quite interesting." Ebizo was beyond his years, being the oldest of the Goron elders.

"I don't care!" Dimitri readied himself to jump all the way up to them.

"We decided that since the mirror was shattered and it could only transport one being at a time, we decided to make a new mirror. One that could transport hundreds at a time." Liggs ignored Dimitri. "So princess Midna told us to find a suitable place to construct a new one, one thousands of times larger. Mix in some essence of Twili and voila!"

Dimitri looked to the sands, beginning to glow even hotter, but taking on a dark tint. The bones of Stallord!

"How long have you been here?" Dimitri demanded. His grip on his Claymores tightened and his knuckles whitened.

"Long enough." Shad appeared behind him and Auru appeared in front of him. "They're right. We wouldn't have been able to use the other mirror anyway. Not in that many pieces."

"Where's Ashei?" Dimitri inquired. He looked around the chamber and he didn't see her. He was surprised at his own concern for her.

"She died. She was fighting Liggs, and lost. He mixed her body in with the burning sands." Auru explained, shrugging and sounding somber. "He spared us and told us he was constructing a new mirror anyway. He said not to rush to our deaths so quickly."

"Well, I'm going to kill them anyway." Dimitri walked around the sand. He jumped up to them but they moved from his reach. He fell to the burning sand. The heat didn't seem to faze him as he had thought it would. After standing back up, the ground began to reflect light. "I'll kill you and then use the mirror."

"Bold words, boy." Ebizo waved his arm and Shad struck Dimitri down his back with his sword. Auru kicked him in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. He fell to one knee, and used his swords to support him. "I don't think you can handle fighting your allies."

Dimitri examined Shad and Auru from a distance. They weren't breathing, and he felt no breath when they were near him. Auru had deep bruising down his whole body, telling Dimitri that he had died of some blunt force… like the cannon blast.

Shad's eyes were glazed over and his body tended to overcompensate when moving. He had died of shock. Probably from being in the desert and then coming into the frigid cold of this ruin. He knew how they had died, but he could only guess how they were standing now. He figured that one of the elders had the power to control the dead.

"I get it. So which one of you bastards has the power to raise the dead?" Dimitri picked himself up, looking to the former Goron elders.

"That would be me." Liggs smiled. "Like it?"

"Definitely." Dimitri tensed every muscle. He went straight for Shad, dodging a poorly executed counter, and cut him in half down the middle. "If you think I would hesitate to kill them, then you are dead wrong."

"Of course." Liggs shrugged.

Auru attacked Dimitri, but he maneuvered around the blow and caught Auru in the back of the head with his elbow. He pushed the former resistance leader's face into the sand. After he struggled for a few minutes, he stopped, Auru's skull melted into the proto-glass.

"Why are you so heartless?" Ebizo whistled. "Why would you kill them like that?"

"Because they are already dead and that's what they would have wanted." Dimitri pointed his sword at the two elders, indicating that they were next. "Now who's first?"

"Did I mention what I am capable of?" Ebizo sounded. Dimitri was about to attack but he felt something grab him. Auru, who was perfectly fine, had him in a choke hold, squeezing his throat. Shad, who was in one piece, punched him several times in the stomach. "I can make exact duplicates of anything, with the same powers and abilities. Even memories. You can't forget that."

Dimitri freed himself and cut the copies to shreds. More replaced them, more than he could count. The whole chamber was beginning to fill with duplicates of Shad and Auru. Dimitri used his twin claymores and cleaved through several at a time. His swings became faster and more numerous, completely eradicating the clones.

Another wave of them appeared, and Dimitri had to slaughter them. When another group appeared, he swung deathblows, but only in one direction. Liggs thought he was getting tired. Dimitri lined up his aim and swung again, beheading several clones. But at the apex of his swing, he let go of the sword. The sword moved so fast that neither Goron elder saw it coming.

"He lost his sword?" Liggs looked harder. As he leaned forward, the Claymore that Dimitri threw lodged itself deep into his throat. Ebizo flinched seeing what happened and lost focus. The clones disappeared. Liggs, head and body fell separate to the sands, fusing with the already black glass.

"You get what you deserve fucker." Dimitri was fatigued. He grabbed his sword from the ground and flung himself up to Ebizo.

"I don't think so, boy." Ebizo struck him back down with only meidocre strength. Dimitri hit the ground and realized that Ebizo was nothing without something to duplicate.

"You're ancient, Ebizo. You're nothing without someone helping you." Dimitri threw his sword straight at Ebizo. The elder flinched but still dodged. In the instant he flinched, Dimitri jumped and cut him in half horizontally at waist level.

He watched as the mirror absorbed the body of the third Goron elder he had killed. That meant there was one more Goron elder left, Darbus, and Ralis. He would have to use this new mirror to bring the fight to Midna at the Twili palace.

Dimitri heard footsteps coming from the ramp so he hid in an alcove near the base of the ramp. From his hiding place, he watched Ashei stagger down to his level. She looked like she had been to hell and back. Recalling what had already happened, Dimitri didn't trust anything at this particular moment. He pounced on her when she came by the alcove.

He had his sword raised, ready to strike when her eyes struck him. They were strangely lifeless.

"Do it Dimitri." Ashei didn't resist. She was crying. "I'm already dead. Shad killed me and Liggs revived me against my will. Please do it."

"I just killed all of them." Dimitri told her. "You should be dead too if I killed Liggs."

"I don't know or care anymore." Ashei grabbed his shoulders. "Listen, if you want to use the new mirror, you have to sacrifice someone per use. Use my body for it since I am dead anyway."

"Why?" Dimitri lifted her up. "We can just use some Twili roaming around here for that."

"No you can't. You have to use a human." Ashei looked at the black glass, now reflecting everything like a mirror. "It's ready. Just use your sword to draw my blood and kill me in the middle of the mirror."

"I can't do that!" Dimitri protested.

"Just do it damn it!" Ashei cried. Dimitri hesitated and then slashed her abdomen open. As the blood ran free, she walked to the middle of the mirror. It began to glow crimson, brighter with every droplet of blood that splashed on its surface. "Now kill me!"

"I don't think I'm capable of that!" Dimitri walked across the mirror, smearing the blood with every step he took. Ashei cast him a longing glance. "Don't make me do this."

"You have to." Ashei felt her blood running out. "I know we got off on bad terms when we first met, but I realized you just had a bad childhood like I did. I just never came to accept that my parents were monsters like you did. I really respect you for your choices in life. You left your brother so your emotional backwash wouldn't affect his childhood. I really respect the strength you've had to come this far, bearing the triforce of power."

"You knew?" Dimitri asked, looking down at his sword.

"You give off the same vibe that Ganon did. Besides, how else could you have such godly strength?" Ashei looked at her bloody hands. "You could have given in to temptation at any time, to use the triforce for yourself, but you just kept fighting with us. Thank you, Dimitri. Now end my life and kill those Twili bastards."

"I'm sorry, Ashei…" Dimitri reared back with his sword and felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes. No one should have to go through this!

"No need to be sorry." Ashei actually smiled weakly before Dimitri cut her down, ending her life for the second time.

The mirror began to react, casting crimson light everywhere. He felt himself being absorbed into the mirror, cast into another realm.


	17. Chapter 16

Ralis led Zelda down the steps into the courtyard with a chain that hooked to a collar around her neck. The collar connected to shackles that held her wrists behind her back. They stepped out into the stale darkness.

"Why do you enjoy this?" Zelda ignored the cold metal against her neck and wrists.

"Who says I do?" Ralis cocked an eyebrow.

"Why else would you become a Twili?" Zelda asked as Ralis disconnected the chain from his belt. She stretched her legs away from Ralis.

"I became a Twili to have the immortality so I can continue to rule over my loyal subjects. I was the most benevolent ruler to the Zora, greater than my mother." Ralis reminisced. "I wished only to continue serving my people toward peace."

"As Twili?" Zelda couldn't stand it, or him now for that matter.

"Once we claim Hyrule, we will be returned to our true forms. But I will not." Ralis sighed. "I must remain loyal to Midna. I must remain a Twili to receive my immortality. My fate has already been decided."

"You are eternally damned." Zelda filled in the blank.

"You could say that." The former Zora prince agreed.

Zelda couldn't look at him anymore so she gazed into the dark sky.

"Where are Link and Midna?" Zelda thought of them. Midna could be brainwashing Link with all of this nonsense, using his feelings for her to her advantage. She wouldn't let anyone else become a tool of the darkness.

"No idea." Ralis shrugged, a common gesture for him now. "Maybe rekindling old flames."

"Whatever." She put the image out of her mind. She just wished that Link would realize that Midna would only deceive him. Where was Dimitri, her once loyal knight and bodyguard?

The two of them felt the ground shake. Zelda watched the foundations of the palace rattle while Ralis stood quickly and looked around.

"Someone forced their way into this realm." Ralis diagnosed the situation. "It feels like Dimitri's presence. You stay here."

Ralis rushed from the courtyard into the palace. Zelda laughed internally at the thought of staying here. Like hell she would! She was going to find Dimitri.

She ran in a different door than Ralis, running awkwardly up sets of stairs with her arms shackled behind her back. She erupted into a room where several Twili were shocked to see her. She simply ran past them up even more stairs.

"Who the hell was that?" A Twili asked another.

The Twili simply ignored her as she came to the top of the flight of stairs. She could read some symbols and read that this was the Queen's chambers. She went straight in. What she found was an empty royal bedroom.

"What are you doing in here?" Darbus, the Goron tribe leader, came into the room flanked by the last Goron elder, Gor Coron. "This room is off limits."

"We don't need you running amok around here and stirring up more trouble than we're already dealing with." Coron grabbed the chain that linked to her collar. He dragged her across the floor out of the room. "We have already put Link in the dungeon. You are going there as well. We will execute you both once we have stopped this intruder that forced his way into our realm."

"Dimitri?" Zelda gasped.

"I think she knows who our intruder is." Coron smiled.

"I knew Ralis should have captured him while he had Link as well. That damned Ralis has caused all of this shit to go wrong." Darbus complained. "He brought Link here. He DIDN'T bring Dimitri here. How the hell are the Twili supposed to function with a bad general like him as their leader?"

"Who cares? If it is Dimitri, Ralis won't survive." Coron silenced his much larger tribe leader. Zelda sensed that something was going on here, but she didn't know what. Since when does a tribe leader of the Gorons knuckle under to a Goron elder? "To the dungeon."

Zelda fought helplessly as Darbus dragged her down the stairs, tearing her clothes and cutting her skin, going to the dungeon. The Twili laughed as she was brought by them. She finally stopped resisting and tried to endure this torture. Her dress was shredded and her legs and arms were sliced open when they arrived in the stone cell she had been placed before. They threw her into the cell and left her to cry and bleed, begging for the one person who could save her.


	18. Chapter 17

Dimitri had been teleported into the Twili realm, right in the middle of a palace room. Several Twili looked at him in confusion, but he crushed their skulls before they could raise an alarm. He stalked around the grounds, keeping his head down. He knew that the tremor caused by his entrance had surely alerted the Twili. There was no way for a tall silver haired man to blend in.

"What are you doing here?" A Twili came from behind him. He didn't hesitate to kill him out of hand. He threw the body in a doorway and left the area.

He looked around a corner and spotted the last Goron elder and Darbus, the tribe leader. He would have to split them up. Before he could do anything, he glimpsed Zelda running up stairs, with Darbus and Coron giving chase. He was about to step in and attempt to fight them, but that would not be advantageous at this point.

"To the Dungeon." He heard Coron's voice and saw them with Zelda in tow proceeding below him. He stutter stepped through the corridors while keeping an eye on them. He couldn't stand what Zelda was going through, but he decided she would have to endure it for just a little longer. He sidled against a cold brick wall when they reached the dungeon. He could hear the sobbing of the princess once Darbus and Coron walked back by him.

He counted three guards, all bigger than normal messengers. They had ceremonial armor on, considered the mark of the elite Twili. He walked up to the cell, and blatantly drew the guards' attention. They were about to let out a shriek, but Dimitri silenced them with quiet efficiency. He struck countless times across their large bodies. They fell to the ground in bloody slivers.

"Demi!" Zelda wiped her eyes, mixing tears with blood. He kicked the cell open with a simple twitch of his leg. She rushed to him, ignoring her injuries. He wound his arms around her. "I knew you would come."

"I'm sorry for taking so long. I kinda had to deal with a lot of stuff along the way." He remained emotionless. She drew back. "I'm not the same man you know me as, Zelda."

"I don't understand." Zelda grew slightly frightened by Dimitri's words.

"I know. You are not cursed like me. I envy your innocence." Dimitri looked into her eyes. It would be the last time he stared into them with the same love for her. His mind was becoming tangled, trying to sort out knowledge that he as a mortal should not know. "She granted me something that I will not let go to waste."

"Who, Dimitri?" Zelda still wasn't catching anything from his words.

"The Great Fairy. The Goddess I love." Dimitri watched her face, seeing her heart crumple. "I loved you so much, but my presence must not affect you, for you must guide the kingdom of Hyrule with the sacred triforce. I must use your triforce of wisdom in the meantime."

He took her left hand and gripped it firmly. They both watched as her image of the triforce burned into the back of her hand, transferred to his, right next to his triforce of power. He waved his hand in front of her face, and used strong waves to knock her out peacefully.

"This is not a cross for the guiding light of Hyrule to bear." Dimitri kissed her cheek softly before laying her gently on the floor. He walked deliberately from the basement and encountered Coron. "Coron."

"Yes, not even surprised that you know my name." Coron shimmered with brimming dark energy. "You are the one responsible for killing the other three elders, I presume?"

"Yes I am." Dimitri kept walking toward him, drawing his swords, not slowing down. "I'm going to kill you as well."

"Really now?" Coron laughed. He moved fluidly through the room, coming from an angle above his head. Dimitri looked directly at him, even though normal eyes would never spot him. Coron watched Dimitri evade at the last second, sidestep, and then bring his first sword down onto Coron's head. He hit the ground, numbed from the impact. Dimitri impaled him through the chest with his second sword.

"I did not ask for any of this. You forced me down this path!" Dimitri yelled at the incapacitated elder. "I am going to make every single one of you bastards pay for making me do this! Count on it!"

Dimitri raised his sword and was about to end Coron's miserable life, when Darbus ran through a wall. Stone and rubble was cast in all directions from the impact. Darbus held rage in his eyes as he continued his charge.

Dimitri ducked and slashed backward when Darbus passed. He saw his head roll, and then twirled the hilt of his second sword, with the blade pointing down, pushing it through the back of Coron's head. With that one motion, he killed Darbus and Coron.

"That leaves Midna and Ralis." Dimitri reminded himself aloud. He kept his swords bared in anticipation. He emerged from the bloody palace into the courtyard. What he saw confused him, absolutely confounded him.

"You are finally bringing yourself before me, Dimitri?" Midna stood in the center of the courtyard. At her right hand, was Ralis and at the left, was Link. Flanking on both sides closer to him, were all four of the Goron elders in the flesh. Behind the group was the large Darbus. They were in the midst of at least a hundred Twili messengers. "I was getting kind of tired of waiting. But now that you're here, I'm fully prepared to see you pay for the things you've done to my subordinates."

"How are they all still alive?" Dimitri's gaze was on the elders. He clearly remembered personally slaughtering each one himself.

"It was our abilities granted to us by the Twili." Coron spoke first.

"I used my replication abilities." Ebizo creaked. Dimitri grew anxious, expecting the worse.

"Plus I can control the dead anyway." Liggs pointed out.

"I remember." Dimitri strode slowly toward the gathered Twili mass. "How is this going to go? Is my own brother going to fight me?"

"I think he wishes to stay at my side." Midna turned to him. She stroked his face and they kissed briefly. "I believe he wishes to defend me."

"Well then… let's go." Dimitri started by killing several Twili with one swing. The Twili swarmed him, but he dispatched them with powerful strokes of his sword. Liggs brought them back to life when they began to dwindle. Dimitri found himself killing Twili that he had already slain multiple times. "I'm going to reach you, and I'm going to kill you. I'll make you pay for fucking up the peace I finally achieved!"

"How so?" Midna asked while Dimitri continued to massacre the already deceased. "At the rate you're going, you're going to tire out and waste your meaningless life. The triforce of power was entrusted to you? What a joke. This should be no challenge for one so blessed."

"My brother has something I need." Dimitri rushed their central grouping, weaving between the bloodied Twili messengers. His agility was nearly enough but fell inches short of strangling Liggs when several Twili jumped on his back and cut his legs out from under him. He dropped his swords, and resorted to fighting off the dead Twili bare handed.

"I don't think you will get it." Midna watched the struggle. "Besides, once you die here, I can harvest the triforce from your body. Once I've done so, I can use Zelda as a puppet while Link serves me loyally."

"Are you listening to this Link? Come to your senses!" Dimitri didn't understand why Link still stood at her side after she said such a thing. "What the hell is wrong with you Link? You've done something to him haven't you?"

"Nothing special. But if you must know, I have him under a little bit of mind control. Link shares your values and morals along with your blood, Dimitri." Coron spoke again, smiling as if proud of himself.

"You son of a bitch. What about you Ralis? How can you stand by and let all of this happen?" Dimitri broke the jaw of a messenger that got between him and the group in front of him. More Twili jumped in front of him to impede his path.

"There are things that we must go along with to achieve what we wish… No matter how much we disagree." Ralis turned his back, feeling slightly saddened by what his former student and best friend was facing.

"You're soft Ralis." Midna smirked. "Are you sure you're the one I want to be in control of my Twili?"

"Questioning me is not a smart choice, bitch." Ralis spat. Midna turned on him.

"Want to run that by me again?" Midna grit her teeth as his insubordination sunk in.

"Pay more attention to the matter at hand." Ralis pointed at Dimitri.

Dimitri eyed his swords on the ground. He ran to them and kicked them to his hands. One he missed with his hand, but decided to use it to his advantage. In split second reaction timing, he kicked the sword in mid air at the elders. Liggs and Ebizo knew what was coming and moved quickly. The sword gouged deeply into Coron's shoulder.

His mind control faltered and Link blinked his eyes to clear them of haze. He saw Dimitri being overwhelmed and saw Coron, the one who was controlling him. Dimitri pitched him his Master Sword. In one fell swoop, Link caught his sword and decapitated Coron easily.

"Dimitri!" Link called out and threw Dimitri's sword he harvested from Coron's body back to its owner. Dimitri caught it and swung it at the same time, cutting pieces of Twili away. "I don't know what's going on, but I think you need some help!"

"Damn it!" Midna cursed as Link swiped at the unsuspecting Liggs. He was also decapitated by the powerful sword of the younger brother. Ebizo and Amoto stepped away from Link and plotted their move. Ebizo copied Amoto, and in turn, he became exact copies of Dimitri and Link.

The remaining Twili fell, Liggs no longer controlling them. Dimitri and Link stood side by side, facing their own duplicates. They looked at each other and experienced their first moment of true brotherhood. They knew that it had to end here, with them the victors.

Midna stood with Ebizo and Darbus, simply watching. Ralis was still looking away from the battle.

"You are possibly the greatest threats this realm has ever seen in thousands of years." The Dimitri clone stretched his newly formed muscles. "With your feats today, you cannot be human any longer."

"I'm not and I admit it." Dimitri hated what he was going to have to do. He turned to Link again. "I must take the triforce of courage from you."

Link glanced at the back of Dimitri's hand.

"What are you planning, Dimitri? You already have Zelda's…" Link thought aloud. Whatever Dimitri was planning was sure to be dangerous as hell. But he gave in, knowing that his older brother would do what was best for them and Hyrule. "I'll let you have it."

Dimitri took one last look at the brother he forced himself to stay away from for so long. He took his hand and absorbed the last triforce piece. Link fell unconscious after the transfer.

"I will tell you this once." Dimitri's body began to glow golden, the light originating from his left hand. He stood still as golden armor materialized around his torso and shoulders. Gold light covered his swords and reached to the Master Sword. All three blades fused together, growing longer and broader, yet felt light as air in his hands. It bore the triforce in full glory. "I am the righter of wrongs, the punisher of the sinners. You are going to fall to this blade."

"I would like to see this." Darbus stepped forward with the Amoto clones. Dimitri stood set in stone. In a split second, Dimitri appeared behind them. He faced Midna and Ralis, ignoring the clones of Amoto and Darbus. As he walked by Ebizo, he flicked him in the forehead, sending his brain flying out the back of his disintegrated skull.

"You are ignoring me?" Darbus growled angrily and turned. His voice rumbled as he bellowed. "Come back here and face me you coward!"

"I don't have to, fool. You died five seconds ago." Dimitri did not turn around. As Darbus tried to run after him, he and the Amoto doubles erupted in a gold aura, instantly dying in a hellish bombardment of holy light. "Who's next?"

"I'm the last one." Ralis stepped forward reluctantly, moving between Dimitri and Midna. "Defeat me, and you are the true victor."

"Why did you truly become a Twili?" Dimitri faced him down. Their eyes remained locked, leaving Midna out. "Why desecrate your pride as a Zora?"

"You know why. I told you a year ago." Ralis conjured a blade from the aura of his body. "The Zora people were tired of the way Hyrule was becoming, especially under Princess Zelda. We all cursed the triforce, saying that if it truly existed, it would be split between the humans, Gorons, and Zoras… each getting their own piece. When we learned that the triforce fell into Ganon's hands, we were outraged that the sacred triforce was given to that demon."

"I remember this." Dimitri had heard this before from the same person. He had sat under the waterfall during his training while Ralis thought aloud about all of these things. Dimitri wondered why he hadn't paid more attention to this before.

"I sent an emissary to the usurper, Zant after he took over the Twili realm and entered Hyrule. He was granted the powers of a Twili. He returned and gave them to me." Ralis told. "My powers were originally given to me by Zant. He included the power to turn others I chose into Twili as well. I refused the powers at first, but the Oocca urged me to reconsider, desiring the powers of the Twili for themselves. They had wished for a return to power."

"How long have you had these powers?" Dimitri remained passive.

"About ten months. Hell, closer to a year. I accepted Zant's remaining powers after he was killed by Link. Not really sure if it was the right thing to do." Ralis continued , showing some remorse. "I used his powers to slowly expand my power base among the leaders of the races. I left out the humans, and you… and it was a mistake. I did not realize that you received the triforce of power until after I had turned. You would have been a better Twili general than I."

"At the time, I would have accepted." Dimitri admitted. "It would have been the perfect way to leave the land of Hyrule, forever ridding me of the hellish memories of that place. I would have thrived here so well. But now it is different. I am now blessed… or cursed with the triforce. I will use it to its full extent to ensure my survival and the survival of the land I must protect."

"How heroic. So what happens after you become the big hero?" Midna quipped, interrupting them. Ralis glared at her.

"That's enough out of you, you fucking fake!" He yelled at her. He used the sword in his hand to slay her outright. He couldn't take it anymore. "I can't even stand the scheme I made anymore! I used the elders and their powers acquired through the Twili to make a figurehead of the Twili. I had her copied and imitated, using her image like a puppet."

"Then where is the real Midna?" Dimitri looked down at his brother. Ralis said nothing. "So… how does the music stop tonight?"

"The darkness is clawing my body to pieces, hungry for the triforce. I know now that I can never turn the darkness from my body, so I must finish the only path of my life left, my death." Ralis turned forlorn. "The Twili in me will not let you live either. Whatever happens, whoever wins, will control the fate of Hyrule and the Twili realm."

"I don't think I can allow myself to die here. But if there is no other way, I will take you with me, Ralis." Dimitri nodded to him. "I appreciate everything you and your mother did for me. I won't say what you've done is wrong, but I must stop this here and now."

"Dimitri, you were my best friend. And I couldn't have asked for a better man to entrust my people to. If you survive, take care of them for me." Ralis readied himself. His grip on the sword he had received from Dimitri tightened. "Now bring it!"


	19. Chapter 18

Every moment began to run in slow motion. Everything slowed as the combatants readied themselves, both anticipating each other's death. The triforce within Dimitri burned with ethereal passion. The darkness within Ralis screamed out within his body for the blood of all in its way. These two forces had been battling for eternity, never achieving victory for either side. This was the final standoff.

Dimitri let Ralis take the first attack, dodging a petty strike of Ralis' sword. He felt every ounce of strength from Ralis when he moved. Dimitri swung his golden blade swiftly, cutting through an outward part of the darkness around Ralis' body. He knew it had not connected with his actual body, but his body would still feel the wound.

"I always thought of you as a brother." Ralis said, getting in close and thrusting up with his sword.

"I saw you as my teacher." Dimitri miraculously moved and snaked a muscular arm around the Twili's neck. He held his sword up, preparing for a finisher, but Ralis elbowed him in the stomach and pulled free. "I always thought you saw yourself as a higher man than I."

"I saw you as a man of honor." Ralis countered several blows by Dimitri. "I will now never know of such honor as yours."

"I can not say anything about that. You put yourself in this position." Dimitri parried Ralis' advances, evading several deathblows. He feinted a sword blow, and kicked straight up into Ralis' jaw. "I am only the one to bury you."

"Then I believe it is appropriate to confess my sins." Ralis rubbed his jaw, slightly cracked from the vicious blow. "Damn that hurts."

"What sins have you already not told me of?" Dimitri smiled in lieu of his successful kick. "Am I to be your preacher?"

"I guess." Ralis blurred toward Dimitri, and lunged forward. He connected with a sword to the side. Dimitri reflexively dropped under Ralis, blood flowing, and kicked upward with both legs. His boots imprinted on his chest. The impact sent Ralis ten feet in the air. He landed hard on his back several yards from Dimitri. He looked up and saw Ralis on his knee, smiling at Dimitri. "First, I told your princess Zelda that you had never loved her. I had been jealous of what you two had had. She believed me, seeing as how I had been training you for three years."

"I did love her, but I did not wish to be involved in her life when she was queen." Dimitri thought about why he had faked his death. "She did not need me."

"On the contrary. I believe she needed you more than you think. She was just about to become queen and I believe that some moral guidance would have helped." Ralis stood to his full height. "I think that she loved you before she loved her kingdom."

"It is too late now. I am cursed beyond saving. There is nothing for me to give or teach to her now." Dimitri shook the images of them years ago. He thought about how he left Zelda in the dungeon after extracting the triforce. "We will never be the same, for I may never see her again."

"Smart man." Ralis unleashed more attacks, more desperate with each minute. He struck at any opportunity, seemingly losing his methodical air. The darkness was eating him away. "It seems the darkness grows impatient. To save my sanity, I am going to turn myself over to it. This may be the last time we share words, so good-bye old friend. May it be over quickly, Dimitri."

His eyes glazed over and his body trembled, succumbing to the beast within.

"Please protect me." Dimitri uttered, seeing the Great Fairy in his mind. Her beautiful eyes, her long turquoise hair and radiant wings that had held him with her. "May I live to see you one last time."

"I want the golden light!" The beast roared from Ralis' body. He flung himself headlong at him, wrapping around Dimitri. He disabled Dimitri's arms and legs with his powerful arms and body. Dimitri was held in a death grip, Ralis using his whole body like a vise. "Give me the light!"

"Bite me!" Dimitri flailed uselessly.

"I shall!" Ralis bared elongated teeth and sank them into Dimitri's neck. Dimitri began to lose copious amounts of blood. He felt his strength fading. He had to stop the bleeding. Ralis applied even more pressure, increasing the blood flow.

"I must see her one last time!" Dimitri head butt the Twili demon fiercely, wrenching the teeth from his neck. He felt the grip weakening, and went to work breaking it. He freed one arm and began striking Ralis repetitively in the face. "You little bastard!"

"I will get it!" Ralis wailed through the beating. Ralis let go of Dimitri and regrouped several body lengths away. "Give it to me now!"

"Fuck you." Dimitri knew that the next move would decide this fight. He thought again of the Great Fairy. He knew what he had to do. "Holy emissary of the triforce, I call upon the power locked away in my soul!"

"You wish to give your life to kill me?" Ralis hissed.

"I relinquish my life force in exchange for the power of the holy emissary!" Dimitri thundered while looking to the sky. The darkness in the sky parted and shone down on Dimitri. "Let me use it to banish the darkness of this world!"

"What is the light doing in this realm?" Ralis gaped. "No light exists here."

"You forget that this is a world of shadow. Light creates shadow!" Dimitri absorbed the light and glowed with divine wrath. "This light will rid the realm of your shadow!"

"You are nothing!" Ralis attacked him head on, an act of desperation. "I will taste your blood!"

"My blood is not for you." Dimitri did not move, letting Ralis' sword sink through his heart, watching his life blood gush from his body. He grabbed the sword in Ralis' grip and shattered it with only one hand. Ralis backed away. "You receive this punishment from above."

"What have you become?" Ralis lashed out futilely. Dimitri stepped to him, and impaled him on the golden blade he wielded. It was the scepter of his redemption. He sank the sword in Ralis' body up to its hilt. When it reached the hilt, he twisted it a full revolution.

"Take this soul to where it will be judged accordingly." Dimitri said in a monotone voice. The demon vanished, taking the golden blade with it. He would be imprisoned in purgatory. "Now the heavens may reap the soul I have wagered."

A shadow rose from the ground inches from him. It pulled back its hood, revealing the skull of the reaper. He reached into Dimitri's body and wound it's skeletal fingers around his heart. The reaper gave a smile of demonic resonance and started to pull. Before every connection to his heart was severed, a flash of light blinded Dimitri's dull, hazy eyes.

"His soul is mine." He heard her voice, and rejoiced internally. The Great Fairy held the wrist of the reaper, keeping him from completing his devilish task. "He has served the triforce well enough to keep his soul."

The reaper said nothing and let go of Dimitri's heart. He bowed and sank back into the ground whence he came. She turned to Dimitri and placed her hand over his heart where it had nearly been torn from. She healed him with her touch, repairing his broken body.

"I love you too much to let you die." She wrapped her wings around him and they shared a long embrace and kiss. "I will return everyone to where they belong."

"As long as all is saved." Dimitri treasured her against him. He shed tears of joy as they faded from the Twili realm. "All is well now."


	20. Chapter 19

Link awoke in his bed, screaming against the darkness. He looked around, not knowing where he was. He felt a presence next to him. He looked over and saw the one he had been dying to see. Midna lay beside him, quietly slumbering.

He could barely contain himself. He got up from the bed without a sound. He looked around and saw that he was back in his home in Ordon. He looked out the window and saw no disturbances. He sighed in relief when he saw the sun rising over the hills.

"It all turned out okay." Link tried to remember what had all happened. He still had no idea what happened after Dimitri took the triforce. The triforce!

He looked at the back of his left hand. His mark of the triforce was returned. It looked fresh, as if it was just recently seared into his hand again.

"Link…" He felt warm arms wrap around his chest. He put his hands on Midna's and looked outside. It was something to be treasured. "I missed you."

Link turned to face her. He realized that she didn't remember anything that had happened. He didn't know how he knew this, but it remained in his mind.

"I missed you." Link kissed her in the rising sunlight.

In Hyrule Castle, Zelda snapped to consciousness. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She was in her royal chambers, sleeping soundly. She got up from the bed and went to the window. Her eyes witnessed the sun high in the sky with no trace of darkness anywhere.

"What happened?" She exhaled. She felt a burn on her left hand. She looked and saw that her triforce had been returned. "Dimitri…"

Something in her mind decided out of the blue that Dimitri was now lost to her, something that would never be open to her. She didn't know why she felt this way though.

"Are you awake?" She heard a familiar voice. She turned and saw Ralis, the Zora prince bowing to her. "I was just coming to wake you, your majesty."

She knew that he was the one who instigated the events that had just taken place, but something made her forgive him. She seemed to have developed feelings for him, feelings that she couldn't explain their origin.

"I'm fine, Ralis. I was just shaking the sleep from my system." She smiled warmly at him. She sat down at a table, and Ralis sat across from her. "What is planned for the day?"

"Strangely, in this chaotic land, we have the day off." Ralis returned her warm smile. He stood up and came to her as she stood.

"I know what I want to do." She pulled him closer. He didn't have a problem with that. "I want to spend some time out in the country..."

"That can easily be arranged." Ralis kissed her forehead.


	21. Chapter 20

"Explain to me what all you did while I was recovering." Dimitri lay beside the Great Fairy on the open sands of the Gerudo Desert during the cool hours of the night.

"I saved Ralis' soul and put him in a place where his heart will not be faced with the temptation of darkness. A place where he will receive the love he needs and deserves." She clasped his hand on the sands.

"And my brother?" Dimitri propped himself up to look at the goddess he fell in love with.

"He is back in Ordon, safe and sound." She propped herself up to look at the mortal she loved.

"And Midna?" He raised his eyebrows.

"She is with Link in Ordon." She moved closer to him. They lay on the sands for hours, with her resting her head on his chest.

"The Gorons?" Dimitri kept asking.

"The elders and Darbus were eternally damned. No attempt was made. The rest were returned to normal. They have a lot of rebuilding." She intertwined her body with his. "The Oocca have returned to normal, though they will never achieve their return to power."

"It sounds like a happy ending." Dimitri thought about all of the lives he took during the past two days. "And the land of Hyrule?"

"Safe for now." She laughed. "You saved the land and no one will ever know, except the four we brought back. The Twili realm is forever entombed, with no way of access. The golden light of the triforce ensured that."

"As long as I am with you, it's all okay with me." Dimitri kissed her. He hated to think about the day his death caught up to him and took him from her. "What I wouldn't give to stay with you forever."

"You already gave me your soul." She pointed out. "Your soul is now out of reach of the reaper. Your wish has been granted."

"Thank you." He kissed her again, and again. They stayed intertwined, prolonging their embrace. When the sun rose, they stood and watched another peaceful day arrive.


	22. Twili Resurgence Soundtrack

The Twili Resurgence Soundtrack

"Ascendancy"— Trivium— Overall theme

"Venomous"— Shadows Fall— Dimitri's theme

"Click Click Boom"— Saliva— Ralis' theme

"Ambrosia"— Alesana— Great Fairy's theme

"Redemption"— Shadows Fall— Link's theme

"When the Sun Sleeps"— Underoath— Zelda's theme

"Tread the Floods"— Trivium— Ashei's theme

"To the Rats"— Trivium— "Viva la Resistance"

"Nothing to Gein"— Mudvayne— "Lost in thought"

"Demons"— Darkest Hour— "Turning away the darkness"

"Pulling the String"— Mudvayne— "Exposing the plot"

"Welcome"— Slipknot— "The demon within Ralis"

"Never Too Late"— Three Days Grace— "Cutting old ties"

"Matter of Time"— Hell Yeah!— "Delaying the inevitable"

"End of All Things to Come"— Mudvayne— "The Battle of Light and Darkness"

"The Crusade"— Trivium— "Ending theme"


End file.
